Women’s Soccer Falls to No. 12 UCF

by Patrick Pierson
August 19, 2012
<p><strong>FORT MYERS, Fla. &ndash;</strong> The FGCU women&rsquo;s soccer team suffered its first loss of the 2012 campaign on a hot Sunday afternoon, as it fell to No. 12 UCF, 4-0, at the FGCU Soccer Complex.</p> <p>The Knights, who advanced to the Elite Eight in 2011, improve to 2-0 with the win, while the Eagles&rsquo; record evens at 1-1. FGCU defeated Lynn, 7-0, in its season opener on Friday night.</p> <p>&ldquo;I thought we bounced back well after a rough start and I&rsquo;m proud of the way our kids battled for most of the game,&rdquo; said head coach <strong>Jim Blankenship</strong>. &ldquo;We had a couple stretches at the start and finish where it got away from us, but overall I thought we played well for a large portion of the game.&rdquo;</p> <p>Coming off a Friday night 3-1 at USF, UCF got on the board just over two minutes into the game when junior defender Marissa Diggs headed home a corner kick service from Andrea Rodrigues that deflected off a Green and Blue defender and into the back of the net.</p> <p>FGCU had a couple good chances to tie the game just after the opening tally by the Knights, but UCF keeper Lianne Maldonado was up to the task. Freshman <strong>Ali Rogers (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast HS)</strong> put the first shot on frame in the 10th minute and sophomore <strong>Shannen Wacker (Parker, Colo./Ponderosa HS)</strong> broke free of the UCF defense, but her 1-on-1 opportunity with Maldonado was denied.</p> <p>Sophomore Jennifer Martin pushed the UCF lead to 2-0 at the 13:15 mark with her second goal of the season. Martin took advantage of a FGCU giveaway in its own end, drilling a shot from 20 yards out into the upper left corner.</p> <p>The Eagles settled down the rest of the first half and for nearly the entire game before giving up two goals in the final 2:19.</p> <p>FGCU will continue its five-game homestand to start the season next weekend when it hosts the Sixth Annual Embassy Suites Kick-Off classic that will also feature Illinois State, Wisconsin-Green Bay and FAU. FGCU will take on Green Bay on Friday, Aug. 24, following the tournament&rsquo;s opening game between FAU and Illinois State at 5 p.m.</p>
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