FORT MYERS, Fla. – After 110 minutes of action, the FGCU women's soccer team's (1-0-1) match against FAU (0-2-1) officially ended with both sides tied up at 0-0. The double-overtime contest, which was played on Thursday night at the FGCU Soccer Complex, saw both teams get numerous looks at the net but neither was able to capitalize on any scoring opportunities.

The result marks the second-straight outing that the Eagles have played past the 90 regulation minutes, as they earned their first win of the season via a 1-0 overtime victory against Utah Valley.

"I enjoyed tonight's game," head coach Jim Blankenship said. "I thought competitively, it was played at a really high level and it stretched us as a team. Our players responded well to their pressure and I think we really gained our rhythm in the second half. Both keepers had to make some really big saves. I think we're growing and we're getting better and as long as we continue to play with the intensity we did tonight, I'll be pleased."

Offensively, FGCU was led by sophomore Louise Lillback (Stockholm, Sweden/Tibble Gymnasium), whose three shots paced the players from both sides. Seniors Cassidy Morgan (Weston, Fla./Cypress Bay HS) and Syniah Clark (Cape Coral, Fla./Ida Baker HS), as well as freshman Kajsa Lang (Kalmar, Sweden/Stagneliusskolan), each finished their night with a respective two shots apiece.

The first half saw a lot of back-and-forth action between the teams, as neither side was able to fully gain control. While both the Eagles and the Owls got a few shots off in the opening possessions, the first on-frame attempt was not recorded until the 28th minute of play, when FAU senior Sammy Vitols tested freshman keeper Mia Krusinski (Lewisville, Texas/Ursuline Academy of Dallas).

Though the Owls did earn a 1-0 advantage in first-half shots on goal, FGCU had a slight edge in overall attempts at 5-4.

Despite sharing possession with the Owls fairly evenly in the first half, the Eagles took control in the second. Sophomore Leah Scarpelli (Brick, N.J./Brick Memorial/Penn State) notched the home team's first on-frame attempt of the night in the 54th minute when she fired one off from the top of the box, but FAU's Cassidy Wasdin made the save. The Owls' Emma Grissom answered Scarpelli's push with a shot of her own just a few minutes later, but Krusinski's second stop kept the slate clean.

Lillback made one final run at the net with less than two minutes left in regulation, but her attempt was also cut off by Wasdin, thus sending the game into overtime.

In a similar fashion to the second half, the Eagles controlled the momentum in the first overtime period. Krusinski was not forced to face any shots, as FGCU had possession of the ball for nearly the entire 10 minutes. Both freshman Malaya Melancon (Naples, Fla./First Baptist Academy) and Clark had chances to put the game away, but their shots were once again saved by Wasdin. The Green & Blue's three total attempts from the first overtime were the only ones recorded during that period, as the Owls did not have any chances with the ball. With the score still tied at 0-0, the game was pushed into its second overtime.

Less than two minutes into the final period, it seemed that the Eagles would be able to put the game away when Lang sent in a ball from about 20 yards out. Though her shot sailed over an outstretched Wasdin's fingertips, it never lowered and therefore went over the crossbar. The Owls gave Krusinski one final test with less than five minutes on the clock, but the freshman made her third and final save of the night, earning the second shutout of her career. FAU's attempt was the last overall, as the match ended with its final 0-0 result.

Throughout the course of 110 minutes of play, the Eagles earned a 13-8 advantage in shots, which included a 4-3 edge in on-frame attempts. Additionally, FGCU led FAU in corner kicks at 7-4.

This marks the first time in program history that the Eagles have opened up the season with back-to-back overtime games, though the team played its way into double overtime as recently as 2019. That year, FGCU downed UNF 1-0 (Oct. 17), thanks to a goal by former Eagle and two-time All-American Evdokia Popadinova.

FGCU will continue its home stay with a match against Miami on Wednesday, Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. The blue out game will feature an "Eagles Against Injustice" promotion and will be the first meeting between the two sides since 2016. The Hurricanes own a 4-2 edge over the Eagles, though FGCU has won two of the last three games.

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 168-59-26 (.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 408-130-37 (.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--