FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU women's soccer team (1-0-1, 0-0 ASUN) is in the final stages of its non-conference slate, as the Eagles are prepared to close things out with matches against Miami (0-9, 0-9 ACC) and FIU (2-1, 0-0 C-USA). The team will play host to the Hurricanes on Wednesday, Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. before taking on the Panthers on Sunday, Feb. 21 at 1 p.m. Both games will be played at the FGCU Soccer Complex and will be streamed on YouTube Live. Approximately 500 fans will be allowed to attend, all of whom must wear masks and adhere to social distancing guidelines.
For the first time in program history, the Eagles have opened up their slate with back-to-back overtime contests. After 93 minutes of play against Utah Valley (Feb. 7), sophomore
Louise Lillback's (Stockholm, Sweden/Tibble Gymnasium) game-winner awarded the team its season-opening win. Lillback's goal is the only one that the team has tallied so far, as the Eagles most recently played to a 0-0, double-overtime draw during their match against FAU (Feb. 11).
Freshman
Mia Krusinski (Lewisville, Texas/Ursuline Academy of Dallas) started between the pipes in both matches and became the first keeper in program history to open up her career with back-to-back shutouts. During the game against the Wolverines, she made eight saves to preserve the clean slate, an effort that ties for the eighth-most stops in the program's single-game history. For her efforts, she was awarded the title of ASUN Defensive Player of the Week and was one of two freshmen in the nation to be named to TopDrawerSoccer.com's Team of the Week. In the team's most recent game against FAU, the rookie faced three shots en route to picking up her second-consecutive shutout.
Wednesday's match will be the first of the spring season for Miami, though the team did play a full conference slate in the fall of 2020. Over the span of nine games, the Hurricanes found the back of the net three times. The 'Canes will make the trip to Fort Myers looking to break their nine-game losing streak.
Though the Hurricanes own a 4-2 all-time edge over the Green & Blue, FGCU has won two of the last three meetings. The history between the teams dates back to the 2009 season, during which Miami claimed a 3-0 win over a young FGCU squad. The last time the teams faced each other was during the 2016 season. That year, the Eagles earned a 1-0 victory over Miami while on the road in Coral Gables.
Like FGCU, the FIU Panthers are playing their full slate in the spring. FIU opened up its season with a 2-0 victory over Jacksonville (Feb. 7), but fell 1-3 in its following game at UNF (Feb. 12). Most recently, the Panthers faced Jacksonville once again and earned a 1-0 triumph. Prior to taking on the Eagles, the team will face yet another ASUN Conference member in Stetson on Thursday, Feb. 18.
FGCU owns a 10-1-1 all-time edge in contests against the Panthers, most recently downing FIU by a score of 2-0 in its 2019 season-opener. The Eagles have not lost a match to the Panthers since the 2010 season, during which FIU earned a 1-0 victory. In the 14-year history between the teams, FGCU has outscored FIU 24-9.
The match against the Panthers will be the last of the Eagles' 2020-21 non-conference slate. Following that game, FGCU will kick off ASUN play with a match up against UNF on Saturday. Feb. 27.
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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--
