CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Junior
Leah Scarpelli (Brick, N.J./Brick Memorial HS/Penn State) scored the goal of the year for the Eagles as the FGCU women's soccer team defeated Queens, 1-0, to open up ASUN Conference play. The Eagles improve to 3-4 overall and 1-0 in the ASUN while the Royals fall to 0-4-3 and 0-1 in conference action.
"An unbelievable goal by Leah," said head coach
Jim Blankenship. "To even get the ball on target from that distance is incredible, but to actually score is even crazier. We controlled most of the game and had our chances and luckily, we were able to get out of here with a win. It's always nice to start 1-0 in league play."
Scarpelli's goal came in the 57
th minute from about 45 yards out as she sent the ball with her left foot toward the goal that had an eye for the top corner. The Queens keeper was tracking it, but it was put in a spot she could not get to as it snuck over her hands and into the back of the net.
It was the first goal of the season for Scarpelli to go along with her team-leading three assists and just the second of her career after notching her first goal against Jacksonville back in the 2021 spring season.
Up until Scarpelli's goal, the Eagles had been controlling the game but couldn't find the back of the net. On the night, the Eagles outshot the Royals, 15-7, and had a 6-3 shots on goal advantage. The Green and Blue also had a 8-0 edge on corner kicks.
Queens had its best chance of the night with just under 10 minutes remaining as the ball was crossed into the box and sat near the goal line, but Scarpelli, back doing what she normally does on defense, cleared the ball away before any harm could be done.
Graduate student
Katie Sullivan (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North HS/Creighton) picked up her second shutout of the season, making two saves in the process.
The Eagles return to the field on Sunday when they take on Liberty in Lynchburg. Kickoff against the Flames is set for 1 p.m. with the game being streamed on ESPN+.
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
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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 186-72-27 (.699) overall record through the first 15 seasons of the program's existence, including an 94-19-15 (.791) mark in the ASUN. Blankenship's impressive career record of 426-143-38 (.733) over 31 seasons has come while leading FGCU, the University of Miami, Lynn University and St. Thomas University.
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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.
