FORT MYERS, Fla. – An 89^th-minute game-winner by Leah Scarpelli sent the FGCU women's soccer team into a frenzy as they took down Lipscomb, 2-1, at Pickering Field on Thursday night. With the win, the Eagles clinched a spot in the ASUN Tournament and control their own destiny to host the first two rounds.

The Eagles now have 18 points as they improve to 6-1 in the ASUN and 8-5 overall while Lipscomb suffers its first conference loss to fall to 6-1-1 and 9-5-2 overall.

"That was a phenomenal game by both teams," said head coach Jim Blankenship. "We haven't played Lipscomb in a long time, but we have a ton of respect for them. It was incredibly exciting, both teams had chance after chance, clearing balls off the line and hitting crossbars. It was just a fantastic win, I really loved the character of our team and how well they withstood pressure."

In addition to Scarpelli (Brick, N.J./Brick Memorial/Penn State), junior Louise Lillback (Stockholm, Sweden/Tibble Gymnasium) also found the back of the net, scoring for the seventh time this season to retake the team lead.

Graduate student Katie Sullivan (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North HS/Creighton) made five saves, including four in the second half.

The game was about as evenly matched as you can have it as FGCU outshot the Bisons, 16-15, with both teams registering six shots on goal, not including a few shots by both teams that hit the woodwork. Lipscomb had a 4-3 edge on corner kicks while also out fouling the Eagles, 13-12.

Lillback gave the Eagles the early lead in the eighth minute, corralling the ball off a defender's head from a goal kick by Sullivan, dribbling a few times before firing a shot. In a battle between the reigning ASUN Player of the Year and ASUN Goalkeeper of the Year CJ Graham, it was Lillback who had the advantage as her shot went past Graham's diving hands and into the back of the net.

Lipscomb evened up the match in 23^rd minute, scoring off a corner kick.

The Eagles looked like they were about to re-take the lead in the 37^th minute when freshman Erika Zschuppe (Kirtland, Ohio/Kirtland HS) took a shot from the edge of the box. The ball went over Graham's head destined for the net, but Lipscomb defender Kendall Wade headed the ball away while standing on the goal line.

Things got hectic in the second half as multiple shots hit the post or crossbar. The first came in the 60^th minute when Sullivan made a save on a shot by Kale'a Perry, but the ball went in the air behind her and hit off the crossbar before being cleared away.

In the 69^th minute, Perry fired another shot from outside the box, getting it past a diving Sullivan, but again the pipes were on FGCU's side as the ball hit off the right post.

With less than 10 minutes remaining in the game, the Eagles felt the pain of coming so close as sophomore Katelyn Kauffman's (Pittsburgh, Pa./Norwin HS/Pitt) shot in the 83^rd minute hit off the crossbar before bouncing down, but not over the line.

Finally, the Eagles converted in the 89^th minute, drawing a foul just outside the box. Scarpelli stepped up and fired a ground shot around the wall, past Graham, and into the corner of the net. It is the second straight game the junior has scored and third time this season.
 

The Bisons currently sit ahead of the Eagles by one point in the standings in second place, but FGCU has played one less game. The top two seeds in the tournament will host the first two rounds meaning if the Green and Blue win its remaining three contests, they will host. Liberty is in first place with 22 points at 7-0-1 after defeating Jacksonville, Thursday evening.

The game also featured semi power outage as one set of lights went out in the first half. However, during the 20-minute delay, the two teams had some fun with a dance battle.

Lillback on the Rise
Most Career Goals

1.	66	Tabby Tindell	2013-16
2	33	Louise Lillback	2019-present
3.	28	Shannen Wacker	2011-14
4.	25	Evdokia Popadinova	2018-19
5.	24	Amber McCall	2007-09

 
Most Career Points

1.	162	Tabby Tindell	2013-16
2.	83	Shannen Wacker	2011-14
3.	73	Louise Lillback	2019-present
4.	68	Lindsey Haw	2007-10
5.	67	Marjorie Boilesen	2017-19
6.	66	Paulina Speckmaier	2013-16
7.	59	Evdokia Popadinova	2018-19
8.	57	Amber McCall	2007-09
9.	53	Ally Kasun	2012-15
10.	44	Gina Petracco	2008-11

The Eagles will be back in action on Sunday afternoon when they take on Austin Peay. First kick from Pickering Field is set for 1 p.m.
 
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 192-74-28 (.698) overall record through the first 16 seasons of the program's existence, including an 99-20-15 (.791) mark in the ASUN. Blankenship's impressive career record of 432-145-39 (.732) over 32 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!

#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 92 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 15 seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 11 seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 45 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. In 2022, the men's golf team became the first program to earn at at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. Eight FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including women's basketball (No. 20, 2021-22), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2022) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as four 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 26 consecutive semesters. The past five semesters (Fall 2019 – Spring 2022) saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher cumulative 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.