FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU women's soccer team takes on Central Arkansas on Sunday with a spot in the ASUN Championship match on the line. Kickoff between the #2 Eagles and #6 Bears is set for 1 p.m.
In the quarterfinals on Thursday, the Green and Blue advanced past #7 North Florida, 1-0, on a goal by
Margaret Berry (Holly, Mich.) in the 74th minute. UCA advanced by surving in penalties, 5-4, over #3 Lipscomb despite being outshot in the game, 42-5.
Up north in Lynchburg, #1 Liberty faces #5 Eastern Kentucky on Sunday in the other semifinal. The championship game will be held on Friday, Nov. 4 at the campus of the higher seed.
High Honors for Scarpelli, Zschuppe
Last week, the ASUN announced its postseason honors with a pair of Eagles taking home major awards. Junior
Leah Scarpelli (Brick, N.J./Brick Memorial/Penn State) was named Defensive Player of the Year while
Erika Zschuppe (Kirtland, Ohio/Kirtland HS
) collected Freshman of the Year Honors. Scarpelli is the seventh different Eagle and eighth overall to be named the league's top defensive player while Zschuppe is the fourth Eagle to be named the best first-year player.
ASUN Honors
Seven other Eagles were named All-ASUN.
Louise Lillback (Stockholm, Sweden/Tibble Gymnasium) and
Ashley Labbe (Lake Worth, Fla./Suncoast HS) joined Scarpelli on the first team while
Margaret Berry (Holly, Mich./Fenton HS/Boston) and
Marla Gaudlitz (Werder, Germany/Sportschule Potsdam Friedrich Ludwig Jahn) earned spots on the second team.
Katie Sullivan (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North HS/Creighton) and
Katelyn Kauffman (Pittsburgh, Pa./Norwin HS/Pitt) joined Zschuppe on the third team while Gaudlitz and
Nellie Nygren (Gothenburg, Sweden/BK Häcken) accompanied Zschuppe on the All-Freshman team. Lillback also earned a spot on the ASUN All-Academic Team.
Statistical Leaders
On the season, Lillback leads the team with 19 points (8g, 3a) while Labbe has 16 points (6g, 4a). Scarpelli leads the Eagles and the ASUN with six assists while Gaudlitz has five. In net, Sullivan has played every minute this season and has made 64 saves in 17 games.
ASUN Weekly Awards
Four Eagles have picked up ASUN weekly honors with Lillback earning Player of the Week on two occasions (Aug. 30, Sept. 27). Sullivan
also earned ASUN Goalkeeper of the Week on September 6 after shutting out FAU in the Eagles' 1-0 victory over the Owls. The most recent were Labbe and Scarpelli who earned Player and Defensive Player of the Week on October 11.
National Recognition
In addition to their ASUN honors, Scarpelli and Labbe have also earned spots on the Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week. Labbe earned a spot the same week she took home the ASUN. Scarpelli was recognized on September 27 after collecting three assists and playing strong defense in two games.
Lillback on the Rise
Most Career Goals
| 1. |
66 |
Tabby Tindell |
2013-16 |
| 2 |
34 |
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. |
75 |
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 |
Scouting the Competition
Central Arkansas enters the match with a 6-8-4 overall record after drawing with Lipscomb the other day before advancing in penalties. The Eagles and Bears played in the regular-season finale just a week ago with FGCU coming out on top, 2-0.
Taylor Lassiter leads the Bears with five goals on the season while Kelly Van Gundy has a team-high five assists. Keyla Perez has earned the starts in net recently and has allowed just 0.97 goals per game this 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 16 seasons. Blankenship started the program in 2007 and has since guided the Eagles to double-digit win seasons every year except the COVID-shortened 2020 season, 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 195-74-28 (.698) overall record through the first 16 seasons of the program's existence, including an 101-20-16 (.791) mark in the ASUN. Blankenship's impressive career record of 435-145-39 (.732) over 32 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 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.
