FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU Women’s Soccer team returns to action this week with two matches beginning on Thursday when they play host to Southern University at 7 p.m. The Eagles will then hit the road for a matchup with Central Florida on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.
The Eagles had a tough opening week as they dropped two contests to open the season, falling 2-1 to Detroit Mercy and 3-1 to South Florida. Freshman Kate Russell scored her first-career goal in the opener against the Titans while ASUN Preseason Player of the Year Louise Lillback found the back of the net for the 27th time in her career against USF. Sophomore Ashley Labbe assisted on both goals as she is tied for the team lead with two points.
Thursday’s game against the Jaguars will also be GameDay App Night where fans can win prizes throughout the night by downloading and interacting with the FGCU GameDay App.
Season Outlook
The Eagles return just nine players from last year’s squad that won the ASUN East Division, but that includes the ASUN Preseason Player of the Year Louise Lillback as well as ASUN All-Preseason members Leah Scarpelli and Ashley Labbe. FGCU adds 19 newcomers, a mixture of freshman and transfers, to the 2022 squad 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 his spot on the outside after being named All-ASUN First Team despite playing just 13 games before suffering a season-ending injury.
In goal, senior Katie 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 products Kendall Gargiula (Bishop Verot).
In the Record Books
With her goal against USF, Lillback continues to climb the FGCU record books.
Most Career Goals
| 1. | 66 | Tabby Tindell | 2013-16 |
| 2. | 28 | Shannen Wacker | 2011-14 |
| 3. | 27 | Louise Lillback | 2019-Present |
| 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. | 59 | Evdokia Popadinova | 2018-19 |
| 7. | 58 | Louise Lillback | 2019-present |
| 8. | 57 | Amber McCall | 2007-09 |
| 9. | 53 | Ally Kasun | 2012-15 |
| 10. | 44 | Gina Petracco | 2008-11 |
Scouting the Competition
Southern enters Thursday’s game undefeated having defeated Nichols, 2-1, to open the season before playing to a scoreless draw with North Dakota State. The Jaguars were picked to finish sixth in the SWAC preseason poll and had three players – Cordney Armstrong (1st Team), Giftee Tor (2nd Team), and Aniya Clarke (2nd Team) – named to the preseason All-SWAC team.
UCF also enters the week without a loss as they opened the season with a 3-0 win over Florida before drawing with LSU, 1-1. Goalkeeper Caroline DeLisle was named the AAC Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year and lived up to it to open the season as she was named AAC Goalkeeper of the Week after making 10 saves and allowing just one goal in two games. Darya Rajaee and Kristen Scott joined DeLisle on the preseason All-AAC team while the Knights were selected to finish third in the AAC Coaches’ poll.
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.
EAGLE 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 EAGLE Campaign – Eagle Athletics Generating Lifetime Excellence. Join our team and pledge your gift today to help the Eagles of tomorrow!
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 an annual 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 184-69-27 (.705) overall record through the first 15 seasons of the program’s existence, including a 93-19-15 (.791) mark in the ASUN. Blankenship’s impressive career record of 424-140-38 (.736) over 31 seasons has come while leading FGCU, the University of Miami, Lynn University and St. Thomas University.
EAGLE 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 EAGLE 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 use 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 DI 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 an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. Eight FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sports – 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.