LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Bellarmine University women's soccer team will face FGCU in the ASUN Championship quarterfinals at 7 p.m. (ET) Thursday at the FGCU Soccer Complex.

FGCU (11-4-2, 8-1-1 ASUN) is the regular-season champion and top seed from the ASUN Graphite Division, while Bellarmine (10-5-3, 4-5-1) is the four-seed from the ASUN Gold Division. The Knights are making their second straight appearance in the ASUN Championship and fourth overall (2020, 2021, 2024, 2025) since elevating to Division I.

Since the ASUN instituted intra-divisional only play in the regular season this year, Bellarmine and FGCU did not square off. Overall, the Eagles hold a 4-0-1 series lead over the Knights in the D1 era, including a 2-1 win last season in Louisville.

However, Bellarmine is certainly hoping for a déjà vu moment at the FGCU Soccer Complex. The two teams last met in Fort Myers in the 2021 ASUN Championship quarterfinals, when the West Division four-seed Knights stunned the East Division one-seed Eagles, as BU followed an official 1-1 draw by winning the PK shootout 4-3. That's their only prior matchup in the postseason.

That 2021 advancement to the ASUN Championship semifinals is the deepest run Bellarmine has made in the tournament. The Knights are still seeking their first official win, as both times they've advanced — including in last season's first round against Austin Peay — came via PKs after stalemates.

FGCU's 48 goals rank second in the ASUN. Of those, a seismic 21 have been accounted for by Erika Zschuppe, the heavy favorite for ASUN Player of the Year who has certainly validated her status as both the ASUN Preseason Player and Midfielder of the Year. Kendal Gargiula has supplied nine goals and provides the Eagles with two of the league's top four in total points — she has 24 and Zschuppe has a conference-best 44.

Bellarmine has perhaps been in playoff mode for the last two weeks. With three matches left, the Knights were mired in a four-game losing streak that left them in fifth place and potentially facing a four- or five-point deficit for the fourth and final divisional berth in the ASUN Championship after Central Arkansas upset EKU, but BU pulled off a season-saving 1-0 victory at North Alabama.

The Knights then shook up the race for the postseason in the Gold Division after taking down then-ASUN-unbeaten Lipscomb 2-1 at home. BU completed its late-season surge by sealing a bid with a scoreless draw at home against Austin Peay.

Bellarmine enters its first ASUN Championship under the stewardship of head coach Steve Bornhoffer, whose squad this season has had unprecedented program success in the NCAA's highest level. The Knights have set new D1-era program records for wins (10; first time in double digits in D1 era), road wins (six; BU had six combined road wins from 2020-24) and unbeaten streak (nine).

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