FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU women's soccer team (1-0-2, 0-0-0 ASUN) tied the University of Miami (0-9-1, -0-9-0 ACC) 1-1 after 110 minutes of action at the FGCU Soccer Complex on Wednesday night. The game marks the Eagles' third-consecutive outing that has gone on past the 90 minutes of regulation play.

Sophomore Louise Lillback (Stockholm, Sweden/Tibble Gymnasium) netted the equalizer in the 80th minute of action, scoring her second goal of the season. Her shot was assisted by senior Kavina Ganeshan (Pickering, Ontario/Pickering HS) and graduate student Meagan Gruber (Long Beach, Calif./Woodrow Wilson/Jacksonville), both of whom were credited for the first time in their Green & Blue careers.

"We have a habit now of trying to play as long as we can," head coach Jim Blankenship said. "I joke with the players that it's okay that we only have one game a week. They don't need to play extra minutes all the time. That being said, I loved tonight's game. We conceded a goal early, which was disappointing. It was a great goal by them. But I have to tip my hat to our team because we immediately locked in and started creating chances. I felt their mentality and competitiveness shine."

For the third game this season, freshman Mia Krusinski (Lewisville, Texas/Ursuline Academy of Dallas) earned the start between the pipes. The rookie, who opened up her collegiate career with back-to-back shutouts, was tested just three minutes into the match by Miami's Jakobsdottir. Though Krusinski was able to stop the first two shots she faced, Jackie Koerwitz snuck one by her in the 29^th minute of action. With the shot, the Hurricanes jumped out to a 1-0 lead, which they held on to through halftime.

Following the break, the Eagles were able to maintain possession of the ball for almost the entirety of the second 45-minute period. In addition to their 12-1 advantage in shots during that time, FGCU recorded five attempts on-frame. On her third try of the second half, Lillback finally found the back of the net in the 81st minute. Her equalizer knotted up the score at 1-1, which went unchanged as the clock wound down on the 90 regulation minutes.

Both sides were fairly equal in their chances during the first overtime period, though FGCU did earn a 4-3 edge in shots. Lillback recorded three, two of which were on-goal, while freshman Kajsa Lang (Kalmar, Sweden/Stagneliusskolan) added a high one over the crossbar. The Hurricanes did get close enough to test Krusinski a few more times, but she came up with a pair of saves to keep the Eagles in it.

Neither the Eagles nor the 'Canes had a great look at the net in the final 10 minutes of play. Lillback, who finished her night with a game-high 12 shots, was responsible for the only look recorded by either side during that period. With neither team able to break open the tie, the game was left with its 1-1 score.

Tonight's result marks the first time in program history that the Eagles have played in three-consecutive overtime games. Prior to this season, FGCU had participated in back-to-back overtime contests in two different seasons. The first instance was in 2009 (vs. JU and UNF) and the second was in 2011 (vs. Duquesne and Miami). All four of those games went into double overtime.

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 168-59-27 (.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 408-130-38 (.743) over 26 seasons has come while leading FGCU, the University of Miami, Lynn University and St. Thomas University.

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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!
 
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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 83 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--