ATLANTA – The ASUN Conference has announced that the 2020 women's soccer schedule will now be played in the spring of 2021, beginning the final week of February. The release, which was posted Wednesday morning, also shared that the league will be broken up into North and South Divisions, with FGCU falling into the latter group.

In addition to the Eagles, who are the reigning ASUN Regular Season Champions from the 2019 campaign, the ASUN South Division includes Jacksonville, UNF and Stetson. The North Division will feature league newcomer Bellarmine, along with Lipscomb, Liberty, North Alabama and Kennesaw State.

"I am really looking forward to getting back on the field from a competitive standpoint," five-time ASUN Coach of the Year Jim Blankenship said. "It will be really exciting to see all of the hard work that the student-athletes have been putting in finally pay off. I am sure that our players cannot wait for the opportunity to compete. We will be ready come Feb. 28."

The Green & Blue will make its long-awaited debut on Sunday, Feb. 28 when the team kicks off its six-game conference schedule with a match against the UNF Ospreys at the FGCU Soccer Complex. UNF proved to be one of the tougher league opponents that FGCU faced last season, as that match went into double-overtime. However, it was the Green & Blue that ultimately emerged victorious after former two-time All American and current professional soccer player Evodkia Popadinova found the back of the net in the 104th minute.

FGCU will then hit the road for a two-match swing, which will feature stops at Jacksonville (March 6) and UNF (March 13). The Eagles have outscored the Dolphins 9-0 in the past two combined regular season meetings, having beaten them 3-0 in last year's matchup.

Following the brief road stint, FGCU will return to Fort Myers to take on Stetson on March 20. FGCU currently holds a 12-match unbeaten streak against the Hatters and will look to build upon it in the teams' 15th overall meeting.

The Eagles will complete the home portion of their slate on March 28 against Jacksonville before closing out their regular season schedule on April 2 at Stetson.

Further information regarding the non-conference schedule, as well as the ASUN Tournament, will be released as contests become finalized. The ASUN has also stated that its 2020-21 women's soccer slate is still subject to further change. All of this is a result of the season being pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The full schedule is listed below, with home contests marked in bold:

Feb. 28 -  vs UNF
March 6 - @ Jacksonville
March 13 - @ UNF
March 20 – vs Stetson
March 28 – vs Jacksonville
April 2 - @ Stetson
 
 For complete coverage of FGCU women's soccer, follow the Eagles on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @FGCU_WSoccer and online at www.FGCUAthletics.com. You can also sign up to have news on FGCU women's soccer or other programs delivered directly to your inbox by visiting www.fgcuathletics.com/email.

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 13 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.

E.A.G.L.E. CAMPAIGN
IT TAKES A TEAM to achieve our newest goal - a $10 million campaign to address student-athlete needs in continued academic success, life skills, mental health, nutrition, and strength and conditioning as well as departmental needs in facility expansion and improvement as well as mentoring and leadership training for coaches and staff. The name embodies our mission and the purpose of the E.A.G.L.E. Campaign - Eagle Athletics Generating Lifetime Excellence. Join Our Team and pledge your gift today to help the Eagles of tomorrow!
 
#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April 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 82 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 13 seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just nine seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 38 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Seven FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport – including women's basketball (No. 24, 2019-20) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as three of the most recent. 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. In 2018-19, the Eagles had an ASUN and state of Florida best seven teams earn the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate (APR) in their sport and have had the highest percentage of teams so honored from these two groups over each of the past three years. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.46 GPA in the classroom in the spring 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 22 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall and 2020 Spring semesters each saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher team GPA. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours in 2017 – being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.
 
--FGCUATHLETICS.COM--