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FORT MYERS, Florida. – Goals from four different players drove the FGCU (1-1) women’s soccer team to a 4-0 win over Tampa (0-1) on Sunday afternoon in their home opener at Pickering Field at the FGCU soccer complex.
PhD student Courtney Coleman (Antioch, Illinois / Antioch Community HS / UMass Lowell) and Junior Grace paradise (Kingston, NH / Sanborn HS / St. John’s) scored their first goals as Eagles as juniors Louise Lillback (Stockholm, Sweden / Tibble Gymnasium) and the second year Ashley Labbe continued their scoring tradition from last season, adding one goal each.
“I’m happy if we take care of business at home and we’ll end up having a really good season,” said head coach Jim Blankenship “It matters and when the game went on I thought our girls really put a stamp on it.”
The Eagles dominated the game from the opening kick, holding 57% of the game in possession of the ball, leaving the Spartans 22-8, including a 10-5 advantage on shots on goal.
In addition to their goals, Labbe and Coleman registered an assist as well as seniors Alyssa Abbondandolo (Cape Coral, Florida / Oasis HS). Junior Katie Sullivan (Wheaton, Ill / Wheaton North HS / Creighton) made five saves in gate for her first shutout as an Eagle.
Tampa was led by Elena Barr and Lone Cirotzki, who each shot two shots, while Lovisa Camel made six saves in goal.
FGCU jumped in 33. to the topapprox Minute when Labbe sent a cross in the penalty area to Coleman, who headed the ball past the goalkeeper to give the Adler a 1-0 lead, which was until halftime.
In the second half, Labbe doubled the Adler lead with a shot from the left wing that went through the goalkeeper’s hands. Lillback built the FGCU leadership in the 71st the endNS Minute with a second chance, which she buried in the lower left corner before Paradis finished with a goal in 87. cementedNS Minute.
The FGCU has now won five home starts in a row that go back to 2017.
The Eagles will try to make it for the second straight time this Thursday when they receive Lynn at Pickering Field. The kick-off is at 7 p.m.
For full coverage of FGCU women’s football, follow the Eagles on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @FGCU_WSoccer and online at www.FGCUAthletics.com. You can also subscribe to receive FGCU women’s football or other program news direct to your inbox by clicking www.fgcuathletics.com/email.
COACH JIM BLANKENSHIP
A veteran of over two decades in college coaching, head coach Jim BlankenshipNamed ASUN Coach of the Year in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2019, has made FGCU women’s football an annual contender in the ASUN conference and an emerging program in the Southern Region in just 13 seasons. Blankenship kicked off the program in 2007 and has since led the Eagles to 13 double-digit winning seasons that culminated with the ASUN Regular Season Championships in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019 also led the Eagles to successive ASUN tournament titles as they became the first team in university history to make it to the NCAA tournament. The Eagles won the 2014 ASUN tournament and hosted the first ever NCAA championship event on campus. The Eagles made their fourth NCAA tournament appearance with the 2015 ASUN Tournament Championship and won their first NCAA game at the USF in 2015 while finishing 24th in the nation. In 2016, the Eagles made three consecutive trips to the NCAA tournament, with a third ASUN tournament title in a row. A year later, the Eagles became the first ASUN women’s soccer program to complete four consecutive NCAA tournaments in 2017, with one more tournament title. Blankenship gave the FGCU the program’s first 14 seasons of FG’s existence, including an 86-17-15 (.801) mark in the ASUN. Blankenship has an impressive career record of 414-133-38 (0.740) over 26 seasons at the helm of FGCU, the University of Miami, Lynn University and St. Thomas University.
EAGLE CAMPAIGN
IT TAKES A TEAM to accomplish our newest goal – a $ 10 million campaign to meet the needs of students and athletes for continued academic success, life skills, mental health, nutrition, strength and conditioning, and the needs of the Fulfilling departments in expanding and improving the facility, as well as mentoring and leadership training for trainers and employees. The name embodies our mission and the purpose of the EAGLE campaign – Eagle Athletics Generating Lifetime Excellence. Become part of our team and Promise your gift today to help the eagles of tomorrow!
#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April for the benefit of the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), the charities of FGCU Athletics. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and use the hashtag #FeedFGCU to raise awareness.
ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have come together to win an incredible 85 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 14+ seasons at Division I level. Additionally, in just ten seasons of DI post-season eligibility, the Eagles have combined 42 teams or individuals to compete in NCAA championships. Eight FGCU programs have achieved a national top 25 placement in their respective sport – including women’s basketball (No. 21, 2020-21), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2021) and both men’s football (2018, 2019) and women’s football ( 2018) as three of the youngest. In 2016-17, the Greens and Blues achieved a division-top sixth place in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors’ Cup and the top 100 finishes nationally, ahead of several Power 5 and FBS institutions. In 2018-19, the Eagles received an ASUN and Florida State‘s top seven teams that received the NCAA’s Public Recognition Award for their rate of academic progress in their sport. The FGCU also achieved an overall classroom record of 3.50 GPA in the fall semester of 2020, outperforming the general university student population for 23 consecutive semesters. Fall 2019, spring 2020, fall 2020 and spring semesters 2021 each saw another milestone as all 15 programs achieved a team GPA of 3.0 or higher. The Eagles also did 7,200 all-time volunteer hours in 2017 and were named one of two runners-up for the Fiesta Bowl’s first ever NACDA Community Service Award.
–FGCUATHLETICS.COM–
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