FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU women's soccer team returns to the pitch this week with a pair of games in The Bluegrass State. The Eagles will take on Eastern Kentucky, Thursday at 4 p.m. before heading to Louisville to battle Bellarmine on Sunday at 1 p.m.
The Eagles have not played since September 25th as their most game against Stetson scheduled on October 1st was cancelled due to the effects of Hurricane Ian.
In its most recent games, the Green & Blue picked up two wins at home, defeating North Florida, 3-1, and Jacksonville, 3-0. With the wins, the Eagles improved to 3-1 in the ASUN and sit in third place in the standings with nine points despite playing one or two less games than everybody else.
Junior
Louise Lillback collected her second ASUN Player of the Week award this season after scoring a goal and adding two assists against the Ospreys. It is the sixth time in her career that she has earned the honor, tying her for second-most in ASUN history with former Stetson player Sarah Collins and only behind former FGCU standout Tabby Tindell, who won it 12 times. On the season, Lillback leads the Eagles with 11 points on four goals and three assists.
Most Career Goals
| 1. |
66 |
Tabby Tindell |
2013-16 |
| 2 |
30 |
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. |
68 |
Lindsey Haw |
2007-10 |
| 4. |
67 |
Marjorie Boilesen |
2017-19 |
| 4. |
67 |
Louise Lillback |
2019-present |
| 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 |
In the ASUN preseason poll, the Eagles were picked second only behind defending champion Lipscomb. Eastern Kentucky was picked to finish seventh while Bellarmine was right behind them in eighth.
Statistical Leaders
In addition to Lillback leading the Eagles in goals, sophomore
Ashley Labbe has also contributed with three goals and three assists while Scarpelli has an ASUN-leading six assists to go along with her one goal. Redshirt-sophomore
Lindsey Saad has also tallied two goals while five other Eagles have found the back of the net at least once this season.
ASUN Honors
Two Eagles have picked up ASUN weekly honors with Lillback earning Player of the Week on two occasions.
Katie Sullivan also earned ASUN Goalkeeper of the Week on September 6 after shutting out FAU in the Eagles' 1-0 victory over the Owls.
Season Outlook
The Eagles return just nine players from last year's squad that won the ASUN East Division, but that includes ASUN Preseason Player of the Year
Lillback as well as ASUN All-Preseason members
Scarpelli and
Labbe. FGCU adds 19 newcomers, a mixture of freshman and transfers, to the 2022 sqaud that was picked second in the ASUN preseason poll.
Lillback is the reigning ASUN Player of the Year after scoring 12 goals last season, including a conference-high 11 in ASUN competition. Scarpelli returns to anchor the back line after helping the Eagles to seven shutouts a year ago while also adding a team-high three assists. Labbe returns to her spot on the outside after being named All-ASUN First Team despite playing just 13 games before suffering a season-ending injury.
In goal,
Sullivan returns for her second season with the Eagles after starting 15 games in 2021. In nine conference games, she allowed just five goals while making 26 saves with an .839 save percentage.
New Faces
Among the influx of new players include graduate transfers
Libby Helverson (Drake) and
Margaret Berry (Boston). Helverson was named to the Midwest All-Region Third Team as well as the Missouri Valley Conference First-Team after a standout season with the Bulldogs in the midfield while Berry brings a wealth of experience after playing on the back line for the Terriers for four seasons. The Eagles will also rely on some of the 11 true freshmen, which includes local product
Kendal Gargiula (Bishop Verot).
Scouting the Competition
Eastern Kentucky enters Thursday's contest with a 6-3-2 overall record and 2-1-2 mark in the ASUN after defeating Austin Peay, 3-2, on Sunday. This will be just the second time the Eagles and Colonels have met on the pitch after FGCU won, 2-0, a season ago in Fort Myers.
Maddie Lemery leads the Colonels with five goals on the season while Gretta Gunn has a team-high three assists. Lauren Seedlock has played every minute for EKU in goal this season and has allowed just 1.36 goals per game while making 55 saves.
Bellarmine is still looking for its first win this season as they sit at 0-4-8 overall and 0-1-4 in the ASUN. Out of BU's eight draws this season, six have been scoreless as they have just three goals on the season coming from Alexa Orozco (2) and Tristan Whalen (1). In goal, Elyssa Francis has started 10 games, including all five ASUN contests, and has an .872 save percentage while allowing only 0.63 goals per game.
The Eagles and Knights have met twice before, both coming last season. The Green & Blue won 2-0 in the regular-season contest in Fort Myers while Bellarmine earned a postseason victory at Pickering Field, defeating the Eagles in penalty kicks in the ASUN quarterfinals.
In the latest RPI rankings, FGCU clocks in at #160 while EKU is #121 and Bellarmine is #229.
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 189-74-28 (.698) overall record through the first 16 seasons of the program's existence, including an 96-20-15 (.791) mark in the ASUN. Blankenship's impressive career record of 429-145-39 (.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
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#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.
