FORT MYERS, Fla. – After a long hiatus, the FGCU women's soccer team (0-0) will be back in action this Sunday, Feb. 7, as the Eagles are set to kick off their 2020-21 season with a match against Utah Valley (1-0). The contest, which is set for a 1 p.m. start, will be played at the FGCU Soccer Complex and will be open to approximately 500 fans. All attendees must adhere to CDC guidelines, which include masking at all times and social distancing. For those who cannot attend, the match will be streamed on YouTube Live.
The Eagles, who were picked to finish second in the ASUN Preseason Coaches' Poll, are the reigning ASUN Regular Season Champions, having captured a share of the 2019 title. In his 14th year at the helm, head coach
Jim Blankenship returned 15 members of that squad, including former All-ASUN picks
Zoey Spitzer (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast HS) and
Louise Lillback (Stockholm, Sweden/Tibble Gymnasium). Spitzer, a senior defender, landed on the 2019 All-ASUN Second Team, while Lillback nabbed a spot on the All-Freshman Team as a forward.
Both Spitzer and Lillback were recently named to the Preseason All-Conference Team, as FGCU was one of just four teams in the conference to place multiple student-athletes on the 11-player squad.
This year's returners are joined by a group of 15 newcomers, which features a pair of transfers in sophomore
Leah Scarpelli (Brick, N.J./Brick Memorial/Penn State) and graduate student
Meagan Gruber (Long Beach, Calif./Woodrow Wilson/Jacksonville). The new additions to this year's team represent multiple different states (TX, UT, IN, NJ, FL), as well as countries across the world (Sweden, Canada).
Utah Valley will make the trip to Fort Myers having opened up its slate with a 5-1 victory over FAU on Thursday night. The victory, which was earned on the Owls' home field, was boosted by a four-goal second half. The Wolverines have had success in the postseason over the past few years, advancing to the NCAA Tournament twice since 2015 (2015, 2017). In both of their appearances representing the WAC, Utah Valley fell in its first-round matchup.
Friday's match will be the first in the history between the Wolverines and the Eagles. Of the seven different teams that FGCU is scheduled to face off against this year, Utah Valley is the only new program. In 2019, the Green & Blue went 4-0 against first-time opponents.
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--
