FORT MYERS, Fla. – Sophomore Louise Lillback's (Stockholm, Sweden/Tibble Gymnasium) goal proved to be the difference-maker in the season-opener for the FGCU women's soccer team (1-0), as her 93rd-minute shot boosted the Eagles to a 1-0 victory over Utah Valley (1-1) on Sunday at the FGCU Soccer Complex. The result marked the first time in program history that FGCU has opened up a campaign with an overtime win.

In addition to the golden goal, which was assisted by junior Alyssa Abbondandolo (Cape Coral, Fla./Oasis HS), the match was highlighted by freshman keeper Mia Krusinski (Lewisville, Texas/Ursuline Academy of Dallas), who earned the start between the pipes in her first collegiate soccer match. She is just the third keeper in the program's 14-year history to post a shutout in her FGCU debut, joining former Eagles Brittany Brown and Emily Barrett. The eight stops she made during the match tie for the eighth-most in Green & Blue single-game history.

"Today, we were really excited to get back out onto the field and play the game we love," head coach Jim Blankenship said. "The combination of being able to open up at home with the Dirty Birds and the way the game ended was great. You really can't ask for anything better. The opportunity and the excitement of it all to start our season was really positive."

Utah Valley, who came into today's match having downed FAU (5-1) on Thursday night, tested the Eagles' defense fairly quickly after kickoff. Krusinski was forced to make her first stop just minutes into the game. After settling in, FGCU was able to push the ball into the Wolverines' half of the pitch and Lillback eventually sent in her first on-frame attempt halfway into the opening period.

Both sophomore Leah Scarpelli (Brick, N.J./Brick Memorial/Penn State) and freshman Malaya Melancon (Naples, Fla./First Baptist Academy) had solid looks at the net, but neither one was able to connect their shots. Lillback's attempt was the only one that Utah Valley's Isabel Jones-Dawe faced in the first half, while Krusinski stared down six. After 45 minutes of play, the teams were forced to head into the break knotted up at 0-0.

In the second half, it was the Eagles who had the first good chance to break open the scoring, as freshman Alyssa Wilson (Fort Myers, Fla./Fort Myers HS) fired off a ball in the 49th minute of play. The rookie, who eventually finished her day with a pair of shots, sent her first attempt over the net. Nearly 20 minutes later, Scarpelli tried to sneak one past Jones-Dawe, but the visiting keeper came up with her second save of the afternoon.

After about 30 minutes of struggling to break down the Green & Blue's back line, Utah Valley finally got another chance at the net when London Miller bounced a ball off the post. A diving Krusinski came up with her seventh stop of the game and minutes later, she made her final save of the afternoon. Both sides had a few more looks as the clock wound down, but the teams' inability to convert sent the game into overtime.

The overtime period was all Eagles, as Lillback quickly found the back of the net less than four minutes into the action. Abbondandolo, who had made a great defensive play in the Eagles' half of the field, found Lillback for her fourth career assist, while Lillback's goal is her eighth overall.

In addition to the excitement from the win, the match was highlighted by the nine total Eagles who made their first career appearances. In addition to the trio of Krusinski, Scarpelli and Wilson, freshman Ashley Labbe (Lake Worth, Fla./Suncoast HS), freshman Kajsa Lang (Kalmar, Sweden/Stagneliusskolan ) and graduate student Meagan Gruber (Long Beach, Calif./Woodrow Wilson/Jacksonville) all earned their first starts for the Green & Blue. The rookie trio of Matilde Abrahamsson (Halmstad, Sweden/Sannarpsgymnasiet), Melancon and Josie Curtis (Bradenton, Fla./Lakewood Ranch HS) proved to be key reserves in their first collegiate soccer games.

With Sunday's win in the books, FGCU will now turn its attention to an upcoming match against FAU on Thursday, Feb. 11. The game, which is scheduled for a 7 p.m. kickoff, will be the first time that the two teams have faced each other during the regular season.

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 168-59-25 (.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 408-130-36 (.743) over 26 seasons has come while leading FGCU, the University of Miami, Lynn University and St. Thomas University.

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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 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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