FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU women's soccer team (2-1-2, 0-1-0 ASUN) is preparing to hit the road for the first time this season, as the Eagles are slated to continue their ASUN slate with a match at Jacksonville (0-5-1, 0-0-1 ASUN) on Saturday, March 6. The match against the Dolphins is set for 1 p.m. at Southern Oak Stadium and will be open to fans on a first come, first serve basis.
This weekend's meeting will be the 17th in the history between the two programs, which FGCU currently holds an 8-2-6 all-time advantage in. The Eagles have won the last four regular-season games against the Dolphins and are currently on a 14-match unbeaten streak in the shared history. Since the first meeting in 2007, FGCU has outscored Jacksonville 30-9.
FGCU is coming off a 4-1 loss to UNF, which it suffered in its ASUN opener. Sophomore
Louise Lillback (Stockholm, Sweden/Tibble Gymnasium) scored the team's only goal of the afternoon, which was assisted by freshmen
Ashley Labbe (Lake Worth, Fla./Suncoast HS) and
Kajsa Lang (Kalmar, Sweden/Stagneliusskolan). Lillback's four goals are tied for the second-most of any player in the league, behind only the Ospreys' Thais Reiss (six). The forward is also tied for second among the conference's point leaders with eight.
In addition to Lillback, both Labbe and freshman
Mia Krusinski (Lewisville, Texas/Ursuline Academy of Dallas) also check into the ASUN's statistical rankings. Labbe's two assists, which are tied for the league's top spot, are the most chipped in by any freshman so far this season. Between the pipes, Krusinski ranks in the conference's top-five in goals-against average (third, 0.91), saves (third, 16) and save percentage (fourth, .762).
The Dolphins will enter Saturday's action with an unbeaten mark in ASUN play, after earning a 2-2, double-overtime draw against Stetson last weekend. Though the Hatters put up two first-half goals, the Dolphins bounced back with a mirrored effort in the second. Sophomore Shelby Brim netted both of the team's shots, while both sophomore Emma Wood and senior Lola Negrete were credited with an assist apiece.
Brim's two goals from the game against Stetson are the only ones that the team has recorded so far this season, having been shutout in its previous six outings. On the other end, the Dolphins have been scored on 10 times while posting just one shutout of their own. Sophomore Courtney Green has earned the start between the sticks in each of the team's five games and has come up with 16 stops.
Saturday's game will be one of three that the Eagles are scheduled to play on the road during the regular season. FGCU is also slated to make trips to UNF (March 13) and Stetson (April 2).
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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 168-60-27 (.716) overall record through the first 13 seasons of the program's existence, including an 82-16-15 (.801) mark in the ASUN. Blankenship's impressive career record of 409-131-38 (.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 84 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--
