GREENWOOD, Ind. – For the first time in program history, the FGCU women's soccer team has placed two players on the Academic All-District First Team, as selected by CoSIDA. Both seniors Evdokia Popadinova and Opal Curless landed spots on the 13-player team for District 4.

Popadinova (Hadzhidimovo, Bulgaria/Northwestern Ohio) and Curless (Mount Desert, ME/Syracuse) become the seventh and eighth players, respectively, to receive the award, joining the elite group of scholar-athletes that includes former Academic All-American Holly Fritz, Ashley Parks, Brittany Brown, Gina Petracco, Jennifer Crittenberger and Brittany Burt.

"This is a tremendous honor for two very deserving student-athletes" head coach Jim Blankenship, who was named the 2019 ASUN Coach of the Year, said. "Evi and Opal are great representatives for our program in the classroom, on the field and in the community. It's very exciting to have two of our players earn this kind of recognition. I think it showcases the all-around strength of our program."

The Academic All-District teams are made up of the nation's top student-athletes, who are recognized based on their combined academic and athletic performances. Programs nationwide are divided into eight districts for the first round and voted on by said districts' sports information directors.

The District 4 team is made up of student-athletes from Division I institutions in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Puerto Rico and South Carolina. As members of the All-District Team, both Popadinova and Curless are eligible for the 2019 All-America team ballot, where first, second and third team All-America honorees will be selected later this month.

Popadinova, a 3.87 GPA student majoring in Integrated Studies, recently became the fifth player in program history to be named ASUN Player of the Year. A unanimous First Team All-ASUN selection, as well as a member of the All-Academic Team, she led FGCU with 24 points, which she tallied off of 11 goals and two assists. The forward scored six times against ASUN opponents and totaled 13 points in conference play, both of which rank at the top of the league. A former Second Team All-American from a season ago, she closed out her FGCU career ranked third all-time with 25 career goals and sixth all-time with 59 career points.

This is the second postseason honor for Curless this season, who owns a 4.0 GPA in Psychology. Last week, she was one of five Green and Blue student-athletes named to the ASUN All-Academic team. After transferring to FGCU as a junior, she went on to start every game that she has appeared in over the past two seasons. This year, she played the full duration in all but two matches. The defender tallied an assist during the team's 2-0 win over Northeastern (Sept. 8) and played a large role in the Eagles' strong back line. Curless helped the team to its league-high eight regular season shutouts and assisted in holding opponents to just 16 goals, the lowest in the ASUN.

Popadinova, Curless and Lipscomb's Maycie McKay are the only players from the ASUN Conference to receive the honor.

2019 Academic All-District Women's Soccer Team
NCAA Division I – District 4 (AL, FL, GA, PR, SC)
First Team

Pos.	Name	School	GPA	Year	Major
GK	Alex Plavin	Alabama	4.00	Sr.	Human Resource Strategy Management
D	Gabrielle Carle	Florida State	4.00	Jr.	Exercise Phsyiology
D	Caroline Chipman	Georgia	4.00	Sr.	Finance
D	Opal Curless	FGCU	4.00	Sr.	Psychology
D	Nealy Martin	Alabama	4.00	Sr.	Chemical Engineering
D	Sabrina Wagner	USF	3.98	Jr.	Biomedical Sciences
MF	Ashley Andersen	Georgia	3.87	Jr.	Finance
MF	Lauren Chang	South Carolina	3.95	Jr.	Political Science
MF	Sunny Sigurvinsdottir	Coastal Carolina	3.98	Jr.	Finance
MF	Mackenzie Smith	Clemson	4.00	Gr.	Communication, Technology & Society
F	Kristina Lynch	Florida State	4.00	So.	Biological Sciencce
F	Julia Mackin	Clemson	3.93	Sr.	Nursing
F	Evdokia Popadinova	FGCU	3.87	Sr.	Integrated Studies

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, 2015 and 2019, has built FGCU women's soccer into a yearly contender in the ASUN Conference and a rising program in the South Region in just 13 seasons. Blankenship started the program in 2007 and has since guided the Eagles to 13 double-digit win seasons, culminating with ASUN Regular Season Championships in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019. In 2011 and 2012 he also led the Eagles to back-to-back ASUN Tournament titles as they 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 167-59-25 (.716) overall record through the first 12 seasons of the program's existence, including an 82-15-15 (.801) mark in the ASUN. Blankenship's impressive career record of 407-130-36 (.743) 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.

ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 79 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 11+ seasons at the Division-I level. Additionally, in just seven+ seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 36 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Seven FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including both men's soccer, women's soccer, and women's basketball again in 2018-19. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.35 GPA in the classroom in spring 2018 and have outpaced their institution's undergraduate student body GPA each of the past 20 semesters. In 2016-17, the Green and Blue posted a department-best sixth-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors' Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours - being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl in 2017.
 
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