Just like that, summer break is already coming to an end and fall sports are on deck. Coming off of back-to-back Atlantic Sun Conference Championships, the FGCU women's soccer team has high hopes for its 2024 campaign.
"So excited," said FGCU midfielder Erika Zschuppe. "I couldn't wait for it all summer. I was itching. I was like, it's finally here!"
FGCU was back out on the pitch at Pickering Field on Tuesday for its exhibition game against the University of Miami. The match ended in a 0-0 draw, but the Eagles outshot the Hurrricanes 10-8.
The mindset going into the season is simple. It may be a new season, but the goal remains the same.
"Win baby, let's go!" said FGCU head women's soccer coach Jim Blankenship.
Getting a taste of victory has made it hard for this squad not to crave it all the time.
"We've been blessed to win it - the league or the cup - in 12 of the last 14 years, so the standard and expectation is quite high," said Coach Blankenship.
Blankenship has taken his Eagles to the NCAA national tournament eight times since 2011, including first-round appearances in each of the last two seasons.
"We won the ASUN Championship, made it to the NCAA tournament, but now we want to win an NCAA tournament game," said FGCU midfielder Ashley Labbe. "So that's our goal."
"That's what we should be getting every year," said Zschuppe. "We want to keep going into it because our team is capable of it."
The Eagles have the experience needed to get there with 19 returners from the 2023 squad.
"We've got a pretty solid foundation," said Labbe. "We can just build from there with the new pieces."
"Our leadership and our older players are phenomenal," said Blankenship. "They've been outstanding and the reason that we were title holders. They're excited just to get playing again."
They get the chance to do so on Thursday, August 15 th for their home opener facing Florida International University.