NEWARK, NJ- FGCU will begin the second half of ASUN play this weekend as they crisscross the Eastern Seaboard, first with a trip up the coast to Newark, New Jersey where they will take on NJIT Thursday at 3 PM, followed by a matchup with Kennesaw State in Georgia on Sunday at 1 PM.
Matchup: FGCU (9-1-2, 3-1-0) @ NJIT (9-3-1, 3-1-0)
When: Oct. 4| 3 PM | Kean University- East Campus Facility
Links: Video |
Stats
Coaches: Jim Blankenship (12th Season @ FGCU, 152-52-23; 28th Overall, 392-123-34) |
Ally Nick (3rd Season @ NJIT, 24-20-4; Same Overall)
Matchup: FGCU (9-1-2, 3-1-0)* @ Kennesaw State (10-3-1, 3-1-0)*
When: Oct. 7 | 1 PM | Fifth Third Bank Stadium
Links: Video |
Stats
Coach: Benji Watson (3rd Season @ Kennesaw St., 28-18-6; 13th Overall, 135-98-16)
*Records do not include FGCU @ NJIT & Kennesaw St. @ Stetson Thursday
LAST TIME OUT- Returning home for the first time in nearly a month, the Eagles earned a 2-0 win over North Alabama on Friday before being stunned 1-0 by Lipscomb on Sunday for their first loss of the season.
Against the Lions Friday, it took the Green and Blue a while before they finally broke through, getting a pair of goals from
Evdokia Popadinova (Hadzhidimovo, Bulgaria/Nikola Vaptsarov/Northwestern Ohio) in the 72nd and then 78th minute to come away with the 2-0 clean sheet win.
Sunday against ASUN rival Lipscomb, the Eagles were shell-shocked right off the bat as the Bisons scored just 1:18 into the game to take an early 1-0 lead. From there, Lipscomb packed it in, not allowing the FGCU attackers any space to get anything going, leading to a first half without a shot on goal for the Green and Blue and only three total shots on net in a 1-0 defeat.
ASUN STANDINGS
| School |
Pts |
ASUN |
Overall |
Last Week |
| 1. Lipscomb |
9 |
3-0-0 |
8-3-2 |
W- Stetson (2-0), W- FGCU (1-0) |
| FGCU |
9 |
3-1-0 |
9-1-2 |
W- North Alabama (2-0), L- Lipscomb (1-0) |
| Kennesaw St. |
9 |
3-1-0 |
10-3-1 |
W- Jacksonville (2-0), W- North Florida (3-2, 2OT) |
| NJIT |
9 |
3-1-0 |
9-3-1 |
W- North Florida (1-0), W- Jacksonville (4-0) |
| 5. North Alabama |
6 |
2-1-0 |
8-5-0 |
L- FGCU (2-0), W- Stetson (1-0) |
| 6. Jacksonville |
3 |
1-3-0 |
1-10-1 |
L- Kennesaw St. (2-0), L- NJIT (4-0) |
| 7. Stetson |
1 |
0-3-1 |
3-7-3 |
L- Lipscomb (2-0), L- North Alabama (1-0) |
| North Florida |
1 |
0-3-1 |
5-6-1 |
L- NJIT (1-0), L- Kennesaw St. (3-2, 2OT) |
| 9. Liberty |
0 |
0-2-0 |
1-9-0 |
DNP |
THIS WEEK'S ASUN SCHEDULE
Thursday October 4
FGCU @ NJIT- 3 PM
Kennesaw St. @ Stetson- 7 PM
Friday, October 5
Liberty @ North Alabama- 8 PM
Saturday, October 6
North Florida @ Jacksonville- 7 PM
Sunday, October 7
FGCU @ Kennesaw St.- 1 PM
NJIT @ Stetson- 1 PM
Liberty @ Lipscomb- 2 PM
ASUN LEADERS- A number of Eagles continue to class the ASUN stat leaderboards at the midway point of conference action.
| Goals |
|
| 1. Evdokia Popadinova (FGCU) |
10 |
| 2. Fiona Wright (NJIT) |
8 |
| 3. Shelby Wall (North Alabama) |
7 |
| 4. Riley Henry (Lipscomb) |
6 |
| Olivia Doak (Lipscomb) |
6 |
| Goals Against Average |
|
| 1. Melissa Weck (FGCU) |
0.57 |
| 2. Kate Mason (Lipscomb) |
0.88 |
| 3. Amelia Sapirman (NJIT) |
0.98 |
| 4. Tiffany Sornpao (Kennesaw St.) |
1.06 |
| 5. Shelby Thornton (North Alabama) |
1.10 |
| Save Percentage |
|
| 1. Melissa Weck FGCU) |
.875 |
| 2. Amelia Sapirman (NJIT) |
.840 |
| 3. Tiffany Sornpao (Kennesaw St.) |
.831 |
| 4. Kate Mason (Lipscomb) |
.824 |
| 5. Emily Plotz (Stetson) |
.811 |
| Shutouts |
|
| 1. Melissa Weck (FGCU) |
7 |
| Tiffany Sornpao (Kennesaw St.) |
7 |
| Amelia Sapirman (NJIT) |
7 |
| 4. Rhiannon Conelly (North Florida) |
4 |
| Shelby Thornton (North Alabama) |
4 |
CHART CLIMBERS- Four different Eagles find themselves in the top five in program history in different statistical categories.
| POINTS PER GAME |
ASSISTS PER GAME |
| 1. Evdokia Popadinova- 2.17 (18) |
1. Marjorie Boilesen- 0.52 (17-18) |
| 2. Tabby Tindell- 2.03 (13-16) |
2. Evdokia Popadinova- 0.50 (18) |
| 3. Marjorie Boilesen- 1.55 (17-18) |
3. Holly Fritz- 0.45 (17-18) |
| 4. Holly Fritz- 1.11 (17-18) |
4. Tabby Tindell- 0.38 (13-16) |
| 5. Amber McCall- 1.06 (07-09) |
5. Ashley Ciesielczyk- 0.37 (08-12) |
|
|
| GOALS PER GAME |
SHUTOUTS |
| 1. Evdokia Popadinova- 0.83 (18) |
1. Brittany Brown- 37.1 (12-15) |
| 2. Tabby Tindell- 0.82 (13-16) |
2. Stephanie Powers- 31 (08-11) |
| 3. Marjorie Boilesen- 0.52 (17-18) |
3. Melissa Weck- 25.3 (16-18) |
| 4. 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- 182 (16-18) |
3. Melissa Weck- .827 (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- 0.74 (16-18) |
3. Melissa Weck- 37 (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) |
|
|
THE NJIT HIGHLANDERS- After a down year in 2017, the Highlanders are in the midst of a bounce back campaign, having already equaled their win total from a season ago, coming into this weekend at 9-3-1 overall and 3-1-0 in ASUN action.
NJIT had a very successful weekend the last time out, making their first and only trip to the Sunshine State, while blanking both North Florida and Jacksonville in 1-0 and 4-0 wins. In their win over UNF, the Highlanders converted a penalty kick right before the half and made it hold as keeper Amelia Sapirman, the ASUN Defensive Player of the Week stopped a career high 14 shots. Against Jacksonville they got goals from four different players and another shutout from Sapirman for the runaway win over the 'Phins.
Super freshman Fiona Wright is far and away the leading scorer for the Highlanders this season, putting the ball in the back of the net a team high eight times while pacing the club with 16 points.
The anchor of the NJIT defense is Sapirman who is tied for the league lead with seven shutouts.
FGCU has had its way in the brief history between the two teams, winning all three contests, by a combined score of 13-0. The two dates in Newark have both been 6-0 Eagle blowouts.
THE KENNESAW STATE OWLS- Kennesaw is the first 10 win team in the ASUN this season as they sit at 10-3-1 heading into the weekend. The Owls have been deadly at home, going 6-0-1, including a win over Power 5 foe Georgia last month.
Kennesaw won a pair of ASUN contests last weekend, first blanking Jacksonville 2-0 on Friday with two goals in a seven minute stretch, before going to North Florida and coming from 2-0 behind against the Ospreys to win 3-2 19 seconds into double overtime.
The Owls feature a balanced attack that includes five different players with three or more goals on the year. Jenna Vollrath is KSU's leading goal scorer with five on the year while Erin Harris leads the team in points with 13 on four goals and five assists.
The KSU backline has been a little bit soft this season, allowing 89 shots on goal, but goalkeeper Tiffany Sornpao has been up to the task, leading the league in saves with 74 while posting 7 shutouts in 14 starts on the year.
FGCU has dominated the all-time series between the two, winning six straight and holding a 10-1-2 advantage overall. Kennesaw's only victory came in the two teams initial meeting in 2007.
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 152-52-23 (72.0 W%) overall record through the first 12 seasons of the program's existence, including a 74-12-14 (81.0 W%) mark in the ASUN. Blankenship's impressive career record of 392-123-34 (74.5 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.
