FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU women's soccer team (2-2-0) is gearing up for a pair of matches against Florida (2-4-0) and Ball State (5-0-0). The Eagles will first travel up to Gainesville for a 6:30 p.m. tilt on Thursday, Sept. 12 against the Gators. That game will be streamed on the SECN+. Following the road trip, FGCU will return home to host the Cardinals at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 15 at the FGCU Soccer Complex. The home match will be streamed on YouTube Live.
The Green and Blue
After dropping a pair of matches, FGCU earned its way back into the win column with a 2-0 shutout over Northeastern last Sunday (Sept. 8). Current MAC Hermann Trophy candidate
Evdokia Popadinova netted her first goal of the season before sophomore
Ashlee Brentlinger (Middletown, DE/Padua Academy) sealed the win with her second career goal.
After her performance against the Huskies,
Popadinova (Hadzhidimovo, Bulgaria/Northwestern Ohio) now ranks 10th all-time with 37 career points, while fellow senior
Marjorie Boilesen (Sao Paulo, Brazil/West Florida) checks in at sixth with 55 points. Senior
Melissa Weck (Yorba Linda, CA/Esperanza HS) collected her second shutout of the season and now needs just 1.7 more career shutouts to stand alone at second in the FGCU record book.
The United Soccer Coaches have the Eagles ranked as the 10th team in the South Region poll. Of the teams ahead of the Green and Blue, three are nationally ranked and two are receiving votes.
FGCU at Florida
The match between the Eagles and the Gators will be the fifth in the history between the two programs, which is highlighted by a pair of NCAA Tournament games. FGCU faced off against Florida in the first round of both the 2011 and 2016 NCAA Tournaments. In both matches, the Gators downed the Eagles by a score of 3-0.
The Gators enter Thursday's contest with a four-match losing streak and have fallen out of the national rankings after receiving four votes last week. Florida dropped road games against No. 3 USC, No 5. UCLA, and No. 6 Florida State, as well as a home match against UCF, who received three votes in this week's poll. Both UCLA and UCF shut out the Gators entirely.
Junior Rose Deanne leads Florida's offense with three goals and one assist, good for seven points. So far, the Gators have netted seven goals from five different players, while just three players have tallied assists. Redshirt-junior Susi Espinoza has started in net for all six of Florida's games. The keeper has been scored on 10 times and her only shutout so far was a 2-0 shutout over a USF squad that is ranked 25th in the national poll.
This will be the second time this season that the Eagles have taken on an SEC opponent. On Aug. 25, FGCU hosted Auburn and dominated the first half of play before the game was cancelled due to weather. Overall, the Eagles are 4-8 against SEC programs.
Ball State at FGCU
Sunday's contest at the FGCU Soccer Complex will mark the first meeting between the teams. Though the Cardinals are not ranked nationally, they were tabbed eighth in this week's United Soccer Coaches Poll for the Midwest region, behind only Power-5 opponents.
Ball State will head to Fort Myers with a 16-match unbeaten streak that includes five wins this season. Last season, the Cardinals won nine-straight matches before a 1-1 draw against Bowling Green, who advanced on PK's 5-4, in the 2018 Mid-American Conference Tournament. This season, Ball State has picked up wins in all four of its home contests and most recently defeated Omaha 1-0 (Sept. 6) in its first road game of 2019.
Prior to taking on FGCU, the Cardinals are slated to take on FAU in a 7 p.m. match at the Owls' home stadium on Friday, Sept. 13.
This season, redshirt-senior Tristin Stuteville has started every game between the pipes for the Cardinals and has four shutouts. She has made allowed just one goal against 19 saves, good for a .950 save percentage. Ball State's offensive effort is led by sophomore Grace Alsop, who has found the back of the net four times and is credited with one game-winner. The team's strongest showing so far was a 6-0 victory over Eastern Illinois (Aug. 23), when Alsop netted a hat trick and three other Cardinals scored.
Career records of note:
Goals
1. 66 - Tabby TINDELL - 2013-16
2. 28 - Shannen WACKER - 2011-14
3. 24 - Amber McCALL - 2007-09
4. 23 - Lindsey HAW - 2007-10
5. 22 - Paulina SPECKMAIER - 2013-16
6. 18 - Marjorie Boilesen- 2017-19
7. 17 - Ally KASUN - 2012-15
8. 16 - Gina PETRACCO - 2008-11
9. 15 - Evdokia Popadinova- 2018-19
10. 12 - Olivia ELIAS - 2008-11
12 - Ali ROGERS - 2012-16
Assists
1. 30 - Tabby TINDELL - 2013-16
2. 28 - Ashley CIESIELCZYK - 2008-12
3. 27 - Shannen WACKER - 2011-14
4. 22 - Lindsay HAW - 2007-10
22 - Paulina SPECKMAIER - 2013-16
6. 19 - Marjorie Boilesen- 2017-19
19 - Ally KASUN - 2012-15
7. 18 - Melissa ARNOLD - 2011-14
9. 15 - Holly FRITZ - 2017-18
15 - Caytlan MACKENZIE - 2007-10
15 - Meaghan MULLIGAN - 2015-17
15 - Camille KNUDSTRUP - 2015-18
Points
1. 162 - Tabby TINDELL (66g 30a) - 2013-16
2. 83 - Shannen WACKER (28g 27a) - 2011-14
3. 68 - Lindsay HAW (23g 22a) - 2007-10
4. 66 - Paulina SPECKMAIER (22g 22a) - 2013-16
5. 57 - AMBER McCALL (24g 9a) - 2007-09
6. 55 - Marjorie Boilesen (18g 18a) - 2017-19
7. 53 - Ally KASUN (17g 19a) - 2012-15
8. 44 - Gina PETRACCO (16g 12a) - 2008-11
9. 40 - Ashley CIESIELCZYK (6g 28a) - 2008-12
10. 37 - Holly FRITZ (11g 15a) - 2017-18
37 - Evdokia Popadinova (15 g 7)- 2018-19
Saves
1. 274 - Brittany BROWN (56 GA, 274 saves) - 2012-15
2. 261 - Stephanie POWERS (52 GA, 261 saves) - 2008-11
3. 216 - Melissa Weck (46 GA, 216 saves) - 2016-19
4. 55 - Kirsi KEENAN (16 GA, 55 saves) - 2007-10
Most shutouts
1. 37.1 - Brittany BROWN - 2012-15
2. 31 - Stephanie POWERS - 2008-11
3. 29.4 - Melissa Weck - 2016-19
4. 8 - Kirsi KEENAN - 2007-10
Goals against avg.
1. 0.67 - Brittany BROWN (56 GA, 7511 min) - 2012-15
2. 0.73 - Stephanie POWERS (52 GA, 6401 min) - 2008-11
3. 0.75 - Melissa Weck (46 GA, 5534 min) - 2016-19
4. 0.84 - EMILY BARRETT (5 GA, 538 min) - 2007-09
FALL SPORTS SINGLE-GAME, SEASON AND GROUP TICKETS ON SALE
Single game tickets for volleyball, men's soccer and women's soccer are on sale now. Prices are $7 for adults and $5 for military/veterans (with ID) and youth (age 15 and under).
Season tickets (entry to each home game) are $55 for volleyball and women's soccer and $40 for men's soccer. Group tickets are $7 for groups of 15 or more and will include reserved seats, group recognition, a group activity and choice of FGCU gear or food. Fall Frequent Flyer passes, which includes a total of 30 entries to all three sports, are just $99.
For all inquiries, you can visit FGCUtickets.com, call 239-590-7145 or stop by the ticket office, which is open daily Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and one hour prior to all home events.
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 12 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 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 158-57-23 (.710) overall record through the first 12 seasons of the program's existence, including a 76-14-14 (.798) mark in the ASUN. Blankenship's impressive career record of 398-127-34 (.741) 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 78 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.
-- FGCUATHLETICS.COM –
