NASHVILLE, TN- The FGCU Eagles (12-3-2) begin their path to their fifth straight ASUN Tournament Championship on Friday night in Nashville, Tennessee where they will lock up with Liberty (6-10-0) in the quarterfinals in a 7 PM (EST) opening kick.
Matchup: #5 Liberty (6-10-0) vs. #4 FGCU (12-3-2)
When: Oct. 26| 7 PM | Lipscomb Soccer Complex
Links: Video |
Stats |
Tickets
Coaches: Jim Blankenship (12th Season @ FGCU, 155-54-23; 28th Overall, 395-125-34) |
Lang Wedemeyer (2nd Season @ Liberty, 15-17-3; 19th Overall, 177-140-42)
LAST TIME OUT- The Eagles come into the ASUN Tournament on fire, having outscored their last three opponents 12-0 to close out the regular season. Even more impressive is FGCU's 83-15 shot advantage over the same stretch.
In their final game of the regular season, the Eagles saw themselves in a scoreless battle at the half with Stetson before bombarding the Hatters with three second half goals to run away with a 3-0 victory. It was Senior Night at the FGCU Soccer Complex, but it was the youngsters that stole the show as freshman
Alyssa Abbondandolo (Cape Coral, FL/Oasis HS) scored twice and fellow freshman
Brianna Hatfield (Godfrey, IL/Alton HS) converted a late free kick from just outside the 18' to put the icing on the cake of the three goal win.
THE FGCU EAGLES- Despite finishing in a three way tie for 3rd place in the ASUN standings this season, the Eagles dominated nearly every statistical category in the league this year. On the offensive end FGCU scored an ASUN best 44 goals on a league high 299 shots and had an ASUN best 51 assists on the year. On the other side of the ball, FGCU allowed just nine goals during the regular season, five less than any other team in the league. Their backline was a stone wall, allowing just 4.29 shots on goal per game which was also an ASUN best.
THE LIBERTY LADY FLAMES- The only thing standing between Liberty and a six game winning streak heading into the playoffs has been the Eagles. FGCU has been the only team to knock off the Lady Flames in the past three weeks as they have climbed from the ASUN cellar into a third place tie to end the year. Liberty enters the tournament, like FGCU, on a three game winning streak and prior to their loss to the Eagles, handed Lipscomb their only loss of the conference season.
It has been a balanced attack for Liberty who has had 16 different players record points and nine different players score goals this season. Three different Lady Flames have three goals on the year including Gabrielle Farrell, Zoey Gaffney, and Devon Sipala.
Despite their recent success, Liberty still ranks at the bottom of the conference in both goals for (7th) and goals against (8th) this season, however, in ASUN action, they have worked more towards the middle of the park, holding a +.26 margin per game which ranked 5th.
FINAL ASUN STANDINGS
| School |
Pts |
ASUN |
Overall |
Last Week |
| 1. Lipscomb |
21 |
7-1-0 |
12-4-2 |
W- North Alabama (2-0), L- Kennesaw St. (1-0 OT) |
| 2. NJIT |
16 |
5-2-1 |
11-4-2 |
T- North Alabama (0-0) |
| 3. Kennesaw St. |
15 |
5-3-0 |
12-5-1 |
L- Lipscomb (1-0 OT) |
| FGCU |
15 |
5-3-0 |
12-3-2 |
W- Stetson (3-0) |
| Liberty |
15 |
5-3-0 |
6-10-0 |
W- Jacksonville (1-0), W- North Florida (2-1) |
| 6. North Alabama |
10 |
3-4-1 |
9-8-1 |
L- Lipscomb (2-0), T- NJIT (0-0) |
| 7. North Florida |
7 |
2-5-1 |
7-8-1 |
L- Liberty (2-1) |
| 8. Stetson |
4 |
1-6-1 |
4-10-3 |
L- FGCU (3-0) |
| 9. Jacksonville |
3 |
1-7-0 |
1-14-1 |
L- Liberty (1-0) |
THIS WEEK'S ASUN TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Quarterfinals- Friday, October 26, 2018
#5 Liberty vs. #4 FGCU- 7 PM (Nashville, TN)
#6 North Alabama vs. #3 Kennesaw St.- 2 PM (Newark, NJ)
Semifinals- Sunday, October 28, 2018
#3 KSU/#6 UNA winner @ #2 NJIT- 1 PM
#4 FGCU/#5 Liberty winner @ #1 Lipscomb- 2 PM
ASUN TOURNAMENT HISTORY- FGCU has been the most successful team in the history of the ASUN Tournament. The Eagles are 14-0-1 all-time, with their lone defeat coming in 2013 when they lost to Jacksonville 5-3 on penalties.
2018 will mark the Eagles first trip into the ASUN Tournament as a #4 seed.
FGCU has outscored ASUN Tournament opponents 33-6 and have yielded more than one goal to an opponent just once.
ASUN STATISTICAL LEADERS- A number of Eagles finished the year atop the ASUN statistical charts.
| Goals |
|
| 1. Evdokia Popadinova (FGCU) |
13 |
| 2. Fiona Wright (NJIT) |
11 |
| 3. Shelby Wall (North Alabama) |
7 |
| Riley Henry (Lipscomb) |
7 |
| Olivia Doal (Lipscomb) |
7 |
| Points |
|
| 1. Evdokia Popadinova (FGCU) |
33 |
| 2. Shelby Wall (North Alabama) |
23 |
| Olivia Doak (Lipscomb) |
20 |
| 4. Fiona Wright (NJIT) |
22 |
| 5. Maycie Mckay (Lipscomb) |
19 |
| Game Winning Goals |
|
| 1. Evdokia Popadinova (FGCU) |
6 |
| 2. Jenna Vollrath (Kennesaw St.) |
5 |
| 3. Thais Reiss (North Florida) |
4 |
| Maycie Mckay (Lipscomb) |
4 |
| 5. Marjorie Boilesen (FGCU) |
3 |
| Two Others Tied At.. |
3 |
| Goals Against Average |
|
| 1. Melissa Weck (FGCU) |
0.54 |
| 2. Kate Mason (Lipscomb) |
0.74 |
| 3. Tiffany Sornpao (Kennesaw St.) |
0.98 |
| 4. Amelia Sapirman (NJIT) |
1.03 |
| 5. Shelby Thornton (North Alabama) |
1.11 |
| Save Percentage |
|
| 1. Melissa Weck (FGCU) |
.873 |
| 2. Kate Mason (Lipscomb) |
.848 |
| 3. Tiffany Sornpao (Kennesaw St.) |
.832 |
| 4. Amelia Sapirman (NJIT) |
.824 |
| 5. Emily Plotz (Stetson) |
.807 |
| Shutouts |
|
| 1. Melissa Weck (FGCU) |
10 |
| 2. Amelia Sapirman (NJIT) |
9 |
| Tiffany Sornpao (Kennesaw St.) |
9 |
| 4. Kate Mason (Lipscomb) |
7 |
| 5. Rhiannon Conelly (North Florida) |
6 |
| Shelby Thornton (North Alabama) |
6 |
CHART CLIMBERS- Four different Eagles find themselves in the top five in program history in different statistical categories heading into the weekend.
| POINTS PER GAME |
ASSISTS PER GAME |
| 1. Tabby Tindell- 2.03 (13-16) |
1. Marjorie Boilesen- 0.47 (17-18) |
| 2. Evdokia Popadinova- 1.94 (18) |
2. Holly Fritz- 0.42 (17-18) |
| 3. Marjorie Boilesen- 1.36 (17-18) |
3. Evdokia Popadinova- 0.41 (18) |
| 4. Amber McCall- 1.06 (07-09) |
4. Tabby Tindell- 0.38 (13-16) |
| 5. Holly Fritz- 1.03 (17-18) |
5. Ashley Ciesielczyk- 0.37 (08-12) |
|
|
| GOALS PER GAME |
SHUTOUTS |
| 1. Tabby Tindell- 0.82 (13-16) |
1. Brittany Brown- 37.1 (12-15) |
| 2. Evdokia Popadinova- 0.76 (18) |
2. Stephanie Powers- 31 (08-11) |
| 3. Marjorie Boilesen- 0.44 (17-18) |
3. Melissa Weck- 27.4 (16-18) |
| Amber McCall- 0.44 (07-09) |
4. Kirsi Keenan- 8 (07-10) |
| 5. Varin Ness- 0.42 (17) |
5. Emily Barrett- 3 (07-09) |
|
|
| SAVES |
SAVE PERCENTAGE |
| 1. Brittany Brown- 274 (12-15) |
1. Stephanie Powers- .834 (08-11) |
| 2. Stephanie Powers- 261 (08-11) |
2. Brittany Brown- .830 (12-15) |
| 3. Melissa Weck- 195 (16-18) |
Melissa Weck- .830 (16-18) |
| 4. Kirsi Kennan- 55 (07-10) |
4. Kirsi Keenan- .775 (07-10) |
| 5. Emily Barrett- 14 (07-09) |
5. Emily Barrett- .737 (07-09) |
|
|
| GOALS AGAINST AVERAGE |
WINS |
| 1. Brittany Brown- 0.67 (12-15) |
1. Brittany Brown- 57 (12-15) |
| 2. Stephanie Powers- 0.73 (08-11) |
2. Stephanie Powers- 42 (08-11) |
| 3. Melissa Weck- 0.72 (16-18) |
3. Melissa Weck- 40 (16-18) |
| 4. Emily Barrett- 0.84 (07-09) |
4. Kirsi Keenan- 10 (07-10) |
| 5. Kirsi Keenan- 0.90 (07-10) |
5. Emily Barrett- 5 (07-09) |
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 11 seasons. Blankenship started the program in 2007 and has since guided the Eagles to 11 double-digit win seasons, culminating with ASUN Regular Season Championships in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017. 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. A year later, the Eagles became the first ASUN women's soccer program to make four-straight NCAA Tournaments with another tournament title in 2017. Blankenship has guided FGCU to a 155-54-23 (71.8 W%) overall record through the first 12 seasons of the program's existence, including a 76-14-14 (79.8 W%) mark in the ASUN. Blankenship's impressive career record of 395-125-34 (74.4 W%) over 26 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
