Led by Erika Zschuppe, FGCU women's soccer makes furious comeback to win ASUN title
It looked bleak for FGCU to make it back to the NCAA women’s soccer tournament.
The third-seeded Eagles trailed No. 4 seed North Alabama 3-0 at halftime of the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship game Sunday afternoon in Nashville, Tennessee.
Erika Zschuppe changed all that. The midfielder scored three goals in a span of 16 minutes in the second half to tie the game and FGCU won the shootout 3-2 to win the conference title and an automatic berth into the NCAAs.
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Tied 3-3 after the two 10-minute overtime sessions, FGCU’s Zschuppe, Ashley Labbe, and Katelyn Kaufman scored in the shootout. Needing to convert to keep it going, North Alabama’s Izzi Gurney-Harper sailed her shot high to end the match.
"Absolutely amazing," head coach Jim Blankenship said. "I am proud of the ladies, and their effort. Like I said before, it’s a resilient team, and today we got tested. Happy and proud that we were up for the battle. I'm confident in this group. We’ve been through a lot, we continue to grow and today was just a massive step in our program’s development and our mentality. A lot of heart in the Eagles."
This will be FGCU’s eighth NCAA appearance, winning an ASUN title match that for the first time did not include either of the top two seeds. The Eagles (12-4-5) reached the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2016 and 2017 after having won the ASUN title over Liberty last season in penalty kicks 4-3.
The win also marked FGCU's 100th all-time conference championship and 50th NCAA appearance. The NCAA selection show is at 4 p.m. Monday.
North Alabama jumped out to a 3-0 lead in a 10-minute span. Gurney-Harper scored first at 29:02 followed by Julia Murdoch at 30:43 and Kellie Hovis at 39:15.
The Eagles came roaring back in the second half as Zschuppe went to work. She scored at 64:32, 66:36, and 78:36, all off assists from Eden Bretzer, to tie the game.
Going first, UNA’s Alice Bussey hit the crossbar followed by Zschuppe’s make. The Lions’ Goose Andrews converted as did Labbe. UNA’s Hannah Guthrie’s try went right into FGCU keeper Olivia Molina’s stomach while FGCU’s Courtney Corcoran missed as the Eagles had a 2-1 lead through three rounds.
Briana Eads converted for UNA as did FGCU’s Kaufman with a strike into the upper right corner but it all ended when Gurney-Harper could not convert to start the fifth round.
North Alabama (11-5-5) upset top-seeded and tournament host Lipscomb 1-0 for its date with the Eagles. FGCU, which is now 5-0 all-time against the Lions, blanked second-seeded Central Arkansas 2-0 on Thursday to advance to its ninth ASUN Championship match appearance with goals from Kendall Gargiula and Labbe.
Zschuppe was named the conference tournament MVP While Gargiula, Labbe, and Molina were named to the all-tournament team.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: FGCU women's soccer beats North Alabama in shootout to win ASUN title
