FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU women's soccer team (3-5-0, 1-1-0 ASUN) returns to Southwest Florida this week as the Eagles will play host to North Florida and Jacksonville. The Green and Blue will take on the Ospreys (1-4-1, 0-1-0 ASUN), Thursday at 7 p.m. before battling the Dolphins (4-0-2, 1-0-0) on Sunday at 1 p.m.
The Eagles are coming off a 1-1 week to open ASUN play after defeating Queens (N.C.), 1-0, last Thursday before falling on the road to Liberty, 2-0. Junior
Leah Scarpelli scored the game-winning goal against Queens, a 45-yard shot that was the #1 play on SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays. Graduate student
Katie Sullivan collected her second shutout of the season while making three saves against the Royals.
On the season, junior
Louise Lillback leads the team with seven points on three goals and an assist. She took home ASUN Player of the Week honors on August 30th after scoring a goal against both Southern and UCF while also adding an assist against the Jaguars. It was the fifth time in her career she earned the recognition, which ties her for third most all time in ASUN history behind Sarah Collins of Stetson (6x) and former FGCU standout Tabby Tindell (12x). Her goal against the Knights was also the 29th of her career which put her in second place all-time in FGCU history.
Most Career Goals
| 1. |
66 |
Tabby Tindell |
2013-16 |
| 2 |
29 |
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 |
| 5. |
66 |
Paulina Speckmaier |
2013-16 |
| 6. |
63 |
Louise Lillback |
2019-present |
| 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. North Florida was selected fifth while Jacksonville was slotted in the 10th spot.
Thursday's game will be Title IX/Women in Sports Night with former Eagle and member of the inaugural women's soccer team Amber McCall in attendance to be honored at halftime. Sunday will be Youth Day with all kids 12 & under encourage to wear their team's jersey with prizes available at the marketing table.
Statistical Leaders
In addition to Lillback leading the Eagles in goals, sophomore
Ashley Labbe has also contributed with two goals and two assists while Scarpelli has a team-high three assists to go along with her one goal. Senior
Grace Paradis, freshman
Kate Russell, and redshirt-freshman
Lindsey Saad have also found the back of the net this season.
ASUN Honors
Two Eagles have picked up ASUN weekly honors this season as Lillback earned ASUN Player of the Week on August 30th after her big games against Southern and #23 UCF while graduate student
Katie Sullivan 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
North Florida enters Thursday's contest with a 1-4-1 record after falling to Jacksonville, 1-0, in its ASUN opener on Sunday. UNF's lone win of the season came against Middle Tennessee while they also drew with Wintrhop. In the all-time series with the Ospreys, FGCU leads 13-3-1 which includes a 3-0 win at Pickering Field last season.
Allie Fakany leads UNF with two goals on the season while Jersi Dadah has added one. Three players each have one assist to lead the team. In goal, three players have split time with Sarah Berrentine playing the most, making four saves in 225 minutes.
Jacksonville enters the week still undefeated as they have four wins and two draws. The Dolphins are coming off a 1-0 win over UNF while also having defeated Alabama A&M, South Carolina State, and Charleston Southern. The Eagles hold an 11-3-6 advantage in the all-time series.
Anaya Black leads the Dolphins with three goals while eight other players have at least one on the season. There is a logjam at the top of the assist leaderboard as six players each have one. Murphy Sheaff leads a quartet of goalies with 225 minutes and has not surrendered a goal yet while making 14 saves.
In the first RPI rankings of the season, FGCU clocks in at #255 while UNF is #232 and Jacksonville is #239.
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 187-74-28 (.697) overall record through the first 16 seasons of the program's existence, including an 94-20-15 (.791) mark in the ASUN. Blankenship's impressive career record of 427-145-39 (.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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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.
