ATLANTA – The 2022 ASUN Conference Women's Soccer Champions are set to hit the field once again for postseason play, but will do so on the national stage in the NCAA Championship First Round on Friday evening against #1 Florida State. The matchup takes place in Tallahassee at 5 PM ET and can be seen on ESPN+.
The Eagles (12-5-2) earned their bid after a 1-1 score (4-3 PKs) over No. 1-seed Liberty on Nov. 4 in the ASUN Championship Final in Virginia. The victory for FGCU gave the program its seventh championship banner and the first since 2017. The Eagles have yet to taste defeat since its regular-season trip to the Flames back on Sept. 18 (2-0) – a stretch of 11-straight contests.
The Seminoles (13-2-3) are the defending national champions and enter the postseason with an ACC Tournament Championship, their ninth overall, and third in-a-row.
Upcoming ASUN Women's Soccer Schedule
Friday, Nov. 11 - NCAA Championship First Round
FGCU vs. #1 Florida State - 5 PM
NCAA Championship First Round (Site: Tallahassee, Fla.): FGCU (12-5-2) vs. #1 Florida State (13-2-3) | Friday, Nov. 11 - 5 PM (ESPN+)
Last Match: Florida State 5, FGCU 0 (Sept. 8, 2022; Tallahassee, Fla.)
- The Eagles clinched a berth in the NCAA Championship for the first time since 2017 last week when they drew with Liberty, 1-1, before outlasting them in penalty kicks, 4-3, in the ASUN Championship Final
- FGCU's Katie Sullivan was named Championship MVP after making the clinching save in the fifth round of penalty kicks; Leah Scarpelli, Louise Lillback and Erika Zschuppe joined her on the All-Tournament Team
- The team heads into the NCAA postseason with a pair of superlative honorees on the roster; Scarpelli earned Defensive Player of the Year and Zschuppe collected Freshman of the Year during the 2022 season
- Scarpelli helped anchor a defense that allowed just 0.60 goals per match during conference play and 1.18 for the year; the Brick, N.J., native also helped the defense shut out the opposition on seven occasions
- On the offensive end, Zschuppe has a total of nine points, including three goals and three assists on the season with 18 starts in 19 contests; the freshman has put up a total of 47 attempts while also helping on defense
- The Eagles enter the rematch with Florida State third in the ASUN in goals with 35 and second in assists with 33; they will be looking to avenge their loss on Sept. 8 and break into the win column in the all-time series (0-3)
- The Seminoles enter the NCAA Championship as the overall number one seed; it is the 11th time in school history that Florida State has been named a No. 1 seed and the fifth-straight season as a program
- FSU is 3-0 against FGCU and hasn't allowed a goal to the Eagles in the first three meetings of the series; the Seminoles have been stellar on their home field in the NCAA Championship with a 51-2-1 record
- The Noles have outscored their opponents, 153-22, at home in those 54 matches, including a cumulative score of 100-12 over the last 35 games, dating back to 2010
ASUN Conference, Atlanta – the only DI conference headquartered in the ATL, our footprint's primary media, sports, business, transportation and cultural hub
The ASUN, a Division I conference member of the NCAA, boasts a membership of institutions that share visionary leadership, bold ambition and creative innovation. As a nimble adaptive conference, unafraid to blaze a national pathway for better service to our student-athletes, teams, and institutions, the ASUN has a proud history of firsts, national academic and athletic achievements and a conference culture that walks the walk with its four ASUN Beams. Students First! Rise. Connect. Impact. #ASUNBuilt by Austin Peay (Clarksville, Tenn.), Bellarmine (Louisville, Ky.), Central Arkansas (Conway, Ark.), Eastern Kentucky (Richmond, Ky.), FGCU (Fort Myers, Fla.), Jacksonville (Fla.), Jacksonville State (Jacksonville, Ala.), Kennesaw State (Ga.), Liberty (Lynchburg, Va.), Lipscomb (Nashville, Tenn.), North Alabama (Florence, Ala.), North Florida (Jacksonville, Fla.), Queens (Charlotte, N.C.) and Stetson (DeLand, Fla.).