Eagles once again ASUN women’s soccer champs
The Florida Gulf Coast University women’s soccer team tallied lucky number 13 on Halloween, as the Eagles captured the ASUN regular season title in DeLand.
The 13th ASUN Regular Season Championship in program history came via a 2-0 win versus Stetson on the road. This is the 15th time in 17 seasons FGCU has won either the regular season, or tournament title.
“Really proud of our guys,” Eagles head coach Jim Blankenship told FGCU Athletics. “We started the season with a list of goals and this is the first one we have had the opportunity to check off. Now we refocus and get ready to come back home for the tournament.”
FGCU brought the heat early on in the contest, with near chances slightly missing the mark in the first 15 minutes of the match.
It was sophomore Keira Morgan who scored the first, and eventual game-winner in the 20th minute. A clearance attempt by the Hatters that went awry found the boot of Morgan, who went up top for her fourth goal of the year.
Just 12 minutes later, it was sophomore Tessa Brooks who extended the Eagle lead, finding the back of the net via a shot from the left post.
The 2-0 advantage was more than enough for FGCU, but the foot did not come off the gas.
The Eagles continued to fire shots at the Stetson keeper throughout the second half, all while allowing just one shot on its own net.
Keeper Madara Bome stopped the only shot on goal she saw in the contest in the 80th minute to keep her clean sheet intact. The shutout was her sixth of the season and third in the Eagles last four games to close out the regular season.
FGCU improves to 10-2-5 overall on the year, marking the 19th consecutive complete season the Eagles have reached double digit wins. They close out ASUN action at 7-1-2, four points clear of the rest of the pack with 23. Stetson sees their campaign come to a close at 3-14-0 overall and 1-8-0 in ASUN play.
The postseason will now run through at Pickering Field in Fort Myers. FGCU will host a first-round matchup between Jacksonville and West Florida on Nov. 5 and will play the winner of that contest on Nov. 8 at 1 p.m. If the Eagles are able to win that game, they will host the ASUN Championship on Nov. 13 at Pickering Field. Tickets for all games are available at FGCUTickets.com.
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ASUN high five Eagles named All-Conference, Blankenship, Morgan, Greiner, Gabelman earn superlatives
Eagles take home Player, Defensive Player, Freshman, and Coach of the Year honors
JACKSONVILLE, Fla.- Wednesday morning at practice, the Florida Gulf Coast women’s soccer team was awarded their 2026 ASUN Regular Season Championship trophy. A few hours later, the individual honors started streaming in as Keira Morgan was named the 2026 ASUN Player of the Year, Sarah Greiner was the Defensive Player of the Year, Kaitlin Gabelman was the Freshman of the Year, and head coach Jim Blankenship was the Coach of the Year to lead nine Eagles who earned either All-ASUN or ASUN All-Academic Team honors for their efforts during the 2026 regular season.
Keira Morgan earned top billing as the 2026 ASUN Player of the Year, the second straight and eighth time overall an Eagle has earned the award. Morgan led the ASUN with six assists on the year and finished tied for second for FGCU with four goals this season. After coming off the bench in the first four games of the season, Morgan earned a starting spot after recording a pair of assists in FGCU’s 3-2 upset win over LSU on the road and hasn’t given up that spot since. She scored all four of her goals in conference play to help lead the ASUN’s most potent statistical offense this season.
Sarah Greiner was named the 2026 ASUN Defensive Player of the Year after making a sizeable impact on both sides of the ball for FGCU this season. Greiner not only helped the Eagles to eight shutouts during the regular season, including five in ASUN action, she also led the team with 45 shots on the season and 19 shots on goal from her back line position. Greiner scored three goals, including the game winner against LSU, and also added two assists on the year. She is the 10th FGCU back in program history to earn Defensive Player of the Week honors.
The league’s top rookie went to the Eagles Kaitlin Gabelman who became just the second FGCU freshman in the past 13 seasons to be named ASUN Freshman of the Year. Gabelman led all ASUN freshmen with six goals and 15 points on the year. She scored in three straight games early in the season against Southern, LSU, and FIU and tallied goals in back-to-back contests against Bellarmine and North Florida in ASUN action.
For the seventh time in his illustrious career, FGCU head coach Jim Blankenship was named the ASUN Coach of the Year. Blankenship led the Eagles to their 13th ASUN Regular Season Championship this season, posting a 7-1-2 mark in ASUN play while going 10-2-5 overall during the regular season, the 19th straight full season the Eagles have reached double digit victories. Blankenship heads into this year’s ASUN Championships with 480 wins which puts him fifth among active NCAA Division I coaches.
Joining Morgan and Greiner on the 1st Team All-ASUN squad were juniors Lily Borders and Kate Friday.
Borders was the centerpiece of the Eagles defense that recorded eight shutouts this season, including five in ASUN action. She played all 900 minutes in conference action and has only been off the field for four of the 1,530 minutes the Eagles have played this season. She also chipped in on the offensive end, netting the game winning goal in FGCU’s victory over High Point while assisting on Tessa Brooks’ game winner against Jacksonville in ASUN play.
Friday started all 17 games for the Eagles this season in the midfield, playing 893 of 900 minutes in ASUN action. A two-way threat, Friday contributed on both sides of the ball for the Eagles, scoring a pair of goals and notching four assists, which ranked second in the ASUN, while also being a part of eight shutouts for the FGCU defense this season.
The lone Eagle on the All-ASUN Second Team was midfielder Taylor Latini. Latini’s first season in Fort Myers was a big one for the Eagles, ranking in the top 10 in the ASUN in both goals with four and assists with four on the year. She recorded points in four straight games to close out non-conference action and begin ASUN play and scored three of her goal goals in conference action.
Along with an ASUN high five players named to the All-Conference Team, FGCU also led the conference with eight Academic All-ASUN honorees. Morgan, Borders, Friday, Gabelman, and Greiner all earned All-ASUN both on and off the pitch while Megan Morgan, Ava Russell, and Maya Henley Buisan all joined them on the Academic All-ASUN squad.
It marks the first time in program history the Eagles have earned Player, Defensive Player, Freshman, and Coach of the Year honors in the same season.
For more information on FGCU women’s soccer, follow @FGCU_WSoccer on Instagram, X (Twitter) and Facebook, and visit fgcuathletics.com.
To reach CJ HADDAD, please email cjhaddad@breezenewspapers.com