FORT MYERS, Fla. – Holding the nation's longest active stretch of consecutive regular season titles, the FGCU women's soccer program and head coach Jim Blankenship continued to grow its 2017 class on National Signing Day. The Eagles welcomed five additional members, adding to two early enrollees who joined at the beginning of the spring semester.

"We are really excited to sign this 2017 class and welcome them into the FGCU family," said head coach Jim Blankenship" "First and foremost, we want to specifically thank all our players, Ken Kavanagh, Alex Massé, Kelly Jean Brock, Storm Blitz and everyone at FGCU who helped us in recruiting this special class. With this group, we focused on bringing in high-character players who will not only contribute on the field, but will have a positive impact on FGCU and the FGCU Athletics Department. The accolades that this group has as a whole is impressive – they have a great blend of individual honors and team accomplishments. Add this signing class to the group that we have returning in the fall along with the two spring enrollees that we added over winter break and I think we are in great shape to take the next step as a program."

Emily "Kavina" Ganeshan – Pickering High School – Pickering, Ontario
A member of the U15 and U17 Canadian National Team, Ganeshan brings a wealth of experience as both a holding midfielder and a full back. While attending Pickering High School, Ganeshan also played for Unionville Milliken Soccer Club in addition to her experience with the Canadian Youth National Teams. While at the international level, Ganeshan won a gold medal with the U15 CONCACAF champions.

"Being able to consistently add players with high-level club and national team experience like Kavina is important for our program's growth," Blankenship explained. "Not many players have the chance to represent their country, so the fact that Kavina played for her country at multiple levels with success is big time. She has the technical ability to play anywhere on the field and we look forward to using her versatility to our advantage this fall."

Morgan Hawes – North Broward Preparatory School – Coconut Creek, Fla.
Hawes brings added depth to the FGCU attack along with a winning pedigree. While attending North Broward, Hawes has tallied 81 points on 26 goals and 29 points over the past two years. The forward and midfield hybrid saved her best for last, tallying 19 goals as a senior for North Broward Prep. FGCU's newest attacking threat won a state title in 2014 while earning American Heritage Delray's Offensive Player of Year and All-County as a freshman.

"Morgan comes from a great club in Sunrise Soccer Club," Blankenship said. "For us, it is important to add players like Morgan who are not only used to high expectations and the pressures of winning, but have a proven track record of exceeding those goals and are accustomed to winning. She is a strong, powerful player that plays up top, but she also has the skill to play in an attacking midfielder role, either way we are confident about her ability to contribute this fall."

Cassidy Morgan – Cypress Bay High School – Weston, Fla.
An All-County member of Cypress Bay, Morgan joins a new-look Eagle midfield in 2017. While playing with her club team, Sunrise Sting, Morgan won the Region 3 Premier League and helped her side earn a Top 10 national ranking. In addition to her athletic accolades, Morgan is also a member of her high school's student government.

"Cassidy, like Morgan, joins us from Sunrise Soccer Club," Blankenship added. "The first thing you will notice about Cassidy when you watch her in the Green and Blue this fall will be her work rate. We built this program on high-energy and effort players and Cassidy will have no problem living up to that core value. She is another player in this class that we think can play multiple positions and can help us fill some needs in the back and in the midfield."

Lauren Moss – Boulder High School – Boulder, Colo.
A four-year member of Boulder's varsity side, Moss has excelled both on and off the field. Moss brings a 4.0 GPA into her final semester while earning All-Conference, All-Region, and All-State honors for her high school. A captain for both her high school and club side, FC Boulder, Moss has led her club to the state finals in 2012 and 2013.

"One of our specific needs in this class was a box-to box-midfielder that can cover ground and Lauren is exactly that," Blankenship explained. "She has great vision and the technical ability to execute what she sees. Throughout the recruiting process and even after she was committed, Lauren was one of those players that seemed to get better and better every time we watched her play.  Lauren is a leader on the field and has the mentality you need in order to be successful in college." 

Zoey Spitzer – Gulf Coast HS – Naples, Fla.
A local product from Naples and Gulf Coast High School, Spitzer stays at home to join the Green and Blue in 2017. Spitzer was named All-State in each of her final three seasons and was the Naples Daily News Prep of the Week four times throughout her career. Spitzer was also a member of the Cape Coral Cyclones and won the 2015 Disney Showcase.

"We are super excited to have Zoey joining the FGCU family," Blankenship added. "With all the high-level women's soccer schools in the state of Florida, keeping the top local talent local is very important to us. Zoey is a lefty that can play up top in our two front, anywhere in the midfield, or as a left back.  We lost a lot of last year's attack to graduation, but we feel that Zoey can come in and help us in that area immediately while also providing depth in other positions."

FOLLOW ALONG
For constant, news, photos, videos and updates you can follow the women's soccer team on Twitter @FGCU_WSoccer, on Instagram @FGCU_WSoccer or on Facebook: Facebook.com/FGCUWSoccer. You can also find FGCU athletics on YouTube by visiting YouTube.com/FGCUEagles.
 
COACH JIM BLANKENSHIP
A veteran of over two decades in collegiate coaching, head coach Jim Blankenship, who was named the ASUN Coach of the Year in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015, has built FGCU women's soccer into a yearly contender in the ASUN Conference and a rising program in the South Region in just 10 seasons. Blankenship started the program in 2007 and has since guided the Eagles to nine double-digit win seasons, culminating with ASUN Regular Season Championships in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016. In 2011 and 2012 he also led the Eagles to back-to-back ASUN Tournament titles and became the first team in the history of the university to make it to the NCAA Tournament. The Eagles went on to win the 2014 ASUN Tournament and hosted the first NCAA Championship event on campus. The Eagles earned their fourth NCAA Tournament appearance with the 2015 ASUN Tournament Championship and won their first NCAA game at USF in 2015, while finishing 24th in the nation. In 2016, the Eagles made it three-consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament with a third-straight ASUN Tournament title. Blankenship has guided FGCU to a 129-47-20 (70.7 W%) overall record through the first 10 seasons of the program's existence, including a 66-10-11 (81.8 W%) mark in the ASUN. Blankenship's impressive career record of 369-118-31 (74.3 W%) over 25 seasons has come while leading FGCU, the University of Miami, Lynn University and St. Thomas University.
 
#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events throughout the year to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.