Catching up with the Eagles: Sept. 6-11 FGCU cross country, soccer, volleyball results
Here is a roundup of how FGCU athletic teams fared in contests played from Tuesday, Sept. 6 to Sunday, Sept.11, including weekly awards won by Eagles athletes and a schedule for games being played this week.
Women's Soccer loses to FSU
A second-half scoring barrage by 8th-ranked FSU put the Eagles on the wrong side of a 5-0 shutout on Thursday night. The Eagles fell to 2-4-0 after the loss to the defending national champions.
"Despite the result, I thought we played well, especially in the first half," said head coach Jim Blankenship. "They are one of the best teams in the country and once they got on the board, it kind of got away from us, but there are definitely things we can use from this game to help us in the future."
More: FGCU celebrates opening pep rally, Eagle Revolution 2022
Previously: Catching up with the Eagles: Aug. 29-Sept. 4 FGCU cross country, soccer, volleyball results
The Seminoles outshout FGCU 28-6, while Katie Sullivan made a season-high seven saves for the Eagles. In the second half, FSU came out attacking and took the lead in the 48th minute and from there, the tide changed as they added goals in the 56th, 59th, 82nd, and 90th minutes.
Due to weather conditions, Sunday's match between the FGCU and FIU was called in the 35th minute with no score. The game still may be resumed at a later date to be determined.
In the 14th minute, Sullivan stopped an FIU penalty with a diving save to her right. Overall, FIU had five shots to FGCU's four while the Panthers had a 4-0 advantage on corner kicks.
Sullivan was named ASUN Goalkeeper of the Week last Tuesday. She made six saves in FGCU's 1-0 victory over Florida Atlantic on Sept. 3, securing the Eagles' first shutout of the season.
Men's Soccer beats Georgia Southern, rallies over Mercer
The FGCU men's soccer team scored a goal in the first and second half to defeat member Georgia Southern (0-4-0) on Friday night at Eagle Feld at Erk Park for its second win of the season. Sophomore Wyatt Kistner earned his third shutout of the season by making three saves.
Graduate forward Aedon Kyra delivered the first goal of the match off a corner kick from sophomore defender Anthony Gagliardi II. In the second half, Gagliardi extended the Eagles' lead with a cross in to push the score to 2-0.
"What a challenging night, the rain, playing down a man, against a young energetic team, the grit and determination not to concede was important to see," said head coach Jesse Cormier. "It explains the ambitions of our team and how far they're willing to go to win on the road. Our defense was stout, Wyatt was excellent in goal, and Shandel played at a very high level in the second half. Gagliardi's goal was world class and gave us the breathing room and belief we needed to finish the match."
The Eagles scored two goals inside the final four minutes of the second half to win 3-2 on Sunday night at Betts Stadium. Kyra scored from inside the box with under a minute remaining on a pass from junior Jahvanie Hammond.
"What a game, to go on the road, play down a man in both games and still get both results in the ultimate testament to the heart and character of this team," Cormier said. "They're a brotherhood that refuse to give in even in the most dire circumstances. Mercer are warriors, conference championship, NCAA tournament caliber team, to come back and find a way to win tells everyone what ambition is this season."
The Bears opened up the action at the 7-minute mark on a penalty kick score from Michael Ille and took a 1-0 lead. The Eagles answered with a header from Jovoney Brown just before the first half ended. Brown was later ejected in the second half after he received his second yellow card. It wasn't until the 80th minute when the tie was broken by Mercer on a strike from Angel Gonzalez.
With a man down, FGCU responded six minutes later as Alves scored to once again even the match, 2-2. Exactly three minutes later, Hammond passed the ball into the box and Kyra buried it in the left side of the net to seal the victory.
FGCU improved to 3-0-1 after the victory.
Volleyball goes 2-1 in invitational
FGCU improved to 6-3 after the Eagles posted a 2-1 record in Gainesville. The Eagles defeated VCU 3-1 to begin the invite on Friday and then dropped a matchup against tournament host No. 16 Florida 3-0. FGCU wrapped up play with a 3-0 sweep of Georgia Southern Saturday.
Erin Shomaker reached the 1,000 career kill milestone over the weekend. Shomaker became the fifth Eagle to ever reach 1,000 career kills.
"First and foremost, a huge congratulations to Erin for her 1,000th kill," head coach Matt Botsford said. "She has been such a vital part of our successes over the past four years, and we are all so proud to see her hit this benchmark."
In the Friday afternoon win over VCU, Shomaker had 17 kills and shot .300, with Juliana Lentz tacking on 13 after she shot .524. Chelsey Lockey tallied 49 assists.
On Friday night, Barron Collier graduate Skylar English notched 14 kills and shot .421 against the Gators. Florida held Shomaker to a .038 and seven kills.
On Saturday's sweep over Georgia Southern, Shomaker's nine kills on .320 shooting put her over the 1,000 career kills threshold. Lily Feltz totaled 10 kills on .563 shooting, and Chelsey Lockley had 29 assists.
"Today's match started out a little slow with our offense, and much of that is credit to Georgia Southern's outstanding defensive effort," Botsford said. "As the match went on, we cleaned up a lot of our play and were able to spread things out more effectively. Lily did a great job providing an offensive spark on the left. As our block and defense definitely started to clean-up, we found a good recipe for success."
Men's Golf finishes 8th in Durham
FGCU Men's Golf finished eighth at the Rod Myers Invitational Saturday to begin the fall season.
The Rod Myers Invitational, hosted by Duke University, had seven of the top-55 programs compete. The 54th-ranked eagles carded a three-round team score of 877, besting 45th-ranked Missouri by one stroke. FGCU also placed higher than Power Five opponents Virginia Tech and Penn State.
"I'm really proud of our guys this week," head coach Andrew Danna said. "Sure, we were inconsistent this week at times, but every opportunity to compete is a chance to learn and grow. We will continue to work hard and be ready to compete at our next opportunity."
Lucas Fallotico paced all Eagles by placing tied for eighth, one slot shy of tying a career-best finish. Fallotico shot a final-round 72 to finish 2-under for the event at 214. He carded a second-round 69 with five birdies on the back nine to highlight his weekend after opening the event with a 73.
Entering Saturday's final round, Austin Cherichella was tied for first on the player leaderboard. Cherichella finished tied for 17th with a 54-hole total of 217, 1-over-par. He carded the lowest round among the Eagles this weekend with a second round of 68.
Fallotico and Cherichella were the only two Eagles to post rounds in the 60s.
This Week's Schedule
MONDAY
Men's Golf at Streamsong Invitational 8 a.m. at Bowling Green
TUESDAY
Men's Golf at Streamsong Invitational 8 a.m. Bowling Green
Volleyball at Florida International, 6 p.m.
THURSDAY
Women's Soccer at Queens (N.C.) 7 p.m.
FRIDAY
Men's Soccer at Jacksonville 7 p.m.
Women's Cross Country at North Alabama Showcase. 7:30 a.m.
Men's Cross Country at North Alabama Showcase 7:30 a.m.
Volleyball vs Buffalo 7 p.m. HOMEWOOD SUITES FGCU INVITATIONAL
SATURDAY
Volleyball vs St. Francis 11 a.m. HOMEWOOD SUITES FGCU INVITATIONAL
Volleyball vs Florida Atlantic 7 p.m. HOMEWOOD SUITES FGCU INVITATIONAL
Women's Soccer at Liberty 1 PM Lynchburg, Va. LYNCHBURG, VA. OSBORNE STADIUM
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Florida Gulf Coast cross country, men's and women's soccer, volleyball
