FORT MYERS, Fla. – Recent FGCU graduate and two-time All-American Evdokia Popadinova (Hadzhidimovo, Bulgaria/Northwestern Ohio) has signed a professional contract with AaB Denmark in the Danish First Division (Elitedivisionen). Popadinova arrived at the club's training facility in Aalborg at the end of July and is expected to make her debut in the team's first match on Sunday, Aug. 9.

"We are so excited for Evi to begin her professional career," head coach Jim Blankenship said. "Playing within this pro stage was an individual goal that she's had since long before we even brought her on campus. From the first time I saw her play, I had no doubt in my mind that she would make it to this level. It is wonderful to see all of her hard work come into fruition."

The Bulgarian native, who transferred to FGCU after spending two seasons with NAIA national champion Northwestern Ohio, had one of the most decorated careers in program history. In addition to becoming the program's second two-time All-American, she wrapped up her career ranked second all-time in game-winning goals (11), third in goals (25) and sixth in points (59).

Popadinova becomes the seventh player in FGCU women's soccer history to sign professionally, following in the footsteps of current assistant coach Ali Rogers, as well as former Eagles Tabby Tindell, Varin Ness, Julia Roddar, Emily Dolan and Shannen Wacker.

"I'm extremely excited to play professionally," Popadinova said. "The league here in Denmark is very good and I believe that it will give me a great opportunity to get better. I'm grateful for my experience at FGCU because it prepared me to play at a higher level. I will do my best to continue to represent FGCU the best way possible."

During her senior campaign, the three-time Bulgarian Footballer of the Year led the Eagles with 11 goals scored in 17 matches, marking her second-consecutive season with double-digit goals. With the addition of a pair of assists, she collected a team-high 24 points on the year. She also paced the league in regular-season conference goals (six) and points (13), while leading FGCU to a share of the ASUN regular season championship and the top seed in the postseason tournament. At the end of the season, she captured ASUN Player of the Year honors for her efforts.

In addition to the aforementioned accolades, Popadinova's final year as an Eagle saw her earn United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-American Second Team honors, a spot on the CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team, her second-consecutive selection to the United Soccer Coaches All-South Region First Team, a unanimously-selected spot to the All-ASUN First Team, ASUN All-Academic honors and an ASUN All-Tournament Team nod.

A two-year starter for the Eagles, both of Popadinova's campaigns in Fort Myers saw her find immense success, as she took the league by storm in her debut in 2018. The 35 points she tallied during the team's 19-match slate were the 15th-highest in the country that year and her 14 goals tie for the fourth-most any Eagle has scored in a single season. Her junior-year highlight reel also includes her game-winning goal on the road at Ohio State, a five-match scoring streak and a pair of multi-goal games.

Founded in 2011, AaB Kvinde Elitefodblod is based in Aalborg, North Jutland, Denmark. The team, which most commonly goes by "AaB Kvinder", was promoted to the Danish top-division in June 2020. The 23-women roster features players from Denmark, Canada, Finland and, of course, Bulgaria.

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.

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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.
 
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