FORT MYERS, Fla. – With the final weekend of ASUN regular season play approaching, the FGCU women's soccer team (5-2-2, 3-2-0 ASUN) is preparing to head to Stetson (1-5-1, 0-4-1 ASUN) for a game on Friday, April 2. Kick-off at the Athletic Training Center is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the action will be streamed on HatterVision.
Friday's match will be the 16th in the history between the two teams, which favors the Eagles 13-1-1. Earlier this season, the Green & Blue hosted Stetson in a match at the FGCU Soccer Complex and earned a 3-0 result. Sophomore
Louise Lillback (Stockholm, Sweden/Tibble Gymnasium) was named ASUN Player of the Week after boosting the Eagles to the win with her two-goal performance.
Lillback is one of four Eagles that have picked up weekly awards from the league this season. Freshman keeper
Mia Krusinski (Lewisville, Texas/Ursuline Academy of Dallas) started off her rookie campaign with back-to-back ASUN Defensive Player of the Week honors, while Spitzer was tabbed for the same award after tallying three points during the recent defeat of Jacksonville. Junior
Alyssa Abbondandolo (Cape Coral, Fla./Oasis HS) is the only other member of the team that has collected player of the week laurels this year, having done so after the team's win against the Dolphins earlier in the year.
FGCU is also well-represented among the conference's statistical rankings. Junior
Kara Kyramarios (Titusville, Fla./Titusville HS) and freshman
Ashley Labbe (Lake Worth, Fla./Suncoast HS) are tied for the ASUN lead with three assists apiece, while Labbe additionally ranks in the top-10 in points (five, 10th). Lillback checks in at second in both season goals (seven) and points (14), as well as conference goals (four) and points (eight). Krusinski's five shutouts between the sticks tie with Liberty's Melody Jayroe for the most of any ASUN keeper and she ranks second in goals-against average (0.64), save percentage (.800), and goals against (six).
Despite holding league-leader UNF scoreless for over 70 minutes of play, Stetson was unable contain the Ospreys' offense down the stretch and ultimately dropped a 1-0 decision in its most recent outing. The result extended the team's losing streak to four games.
Senior Lily Truong and graduate student Jackie Fiacco are tied for the team lead with two goals apiece and are two of four total Hatters that have found the back of the net this season. Stetson has not scored a goal since its 2-2 draw against Jacksonville on Feb. 28.
Freshman Ashleigh Wise has started the last six games after missing the season-opener versus Georgia Southern. The rookie has been scored on nine times, the fifth-lowest of any keeper in the conference, and has come up with 21 saves.
This weekend, the Hatters will look to lock in their seed for the upcoming ASUN Women's Soccer Championship. Stetson will either end up in the No. 3 or No. 4 spot, depending on the result of its game, as well as the matchup between Jacksonville and UNF. In the first round of the playoffs, the fourth seed will travel to face No. 1 UNF, while the third seed will make the trip to Fort Myers to take on No. 2 FGCU.
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.
ASUN Roundup
South Division Standings
| School |
ASUN |
Points |
Overall |
| No. 1 UNF |
5-0-0 |
15 |
8-1-0 |
| No. 2 FGCU |
3-2-0 |
9 |
5-2-2 |
| Jacksonville |
1-3-1 |
4 |
1-8-1 |
| Stetson |
0-4-1 |
1 |
1-5-1 |
North Division Standings
| School |
ASUN |
Points |
Overall |
| No. 1 Lipscomb |
6-0-1 |
19 |
7-2-1 |
| No. 2 Kennesaw State |
4-3-0 |
12 |
5-7-0 |
| Liberty |
2-3-3 |
9 |
3-4-5 |
| Bellarmine |
2-3-2 |
8 |
2-5-2 |
| North Alabama |
0-5-2 |
2 |
1-7-2 |
Recent Results
Sunday, March 28
Liberty 2, Bellarmine 2 (2OT)
Lipscomb 2, Kennesaw State 1
FGCU 2, Jacksonville 1
UNF 1, Stetson 0
Wednesday, March 31
Lipscomb 7, North Alabama 0
Upcoming Games
Friday, April 2
FGCU at Stetson - 7 p.m.
Saturday, April 3
Jacksonville at UNF - Noon
Kennesaw State at North Alabama - 2 p.m.
Bellarmine at Lipscomb - 7 p.m.
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 172-61-27 (.716) overall record through the first 13 seasons of the program's existence, including an 85-17-15 (.801) mark in the ASUN. Blankenship's impressive career record of 412-132-38 (.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 85 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 40 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Eight FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including women's basketball (No. 21, 2020-21), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2021) 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 in their sport. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.50 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 23 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall, 2020 Spring, and 2020 Fall 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--
