FORT MYERS, FLA.- The FGCU Women's Soccer team will open it's 2018 season this weekend with a home contest against Georgia Southern Friday night at 7 PM at the FGCU Soccer Complex, followed by a road test at #16 UCF Sunday night in Orlando.
 
NEWCOMERS
A pair of new goalkeepers will help the Eagles final line of defense this season as Hannah Weisse transfers to FGCU from UTSA and Stephanie Starr joins the Eagles from the prep ranks. Weiss (Jensen Beach, Fla./Jensen Beach HS/UTSA) played in 12 matches for the Roadrunners as a freshman in 2016, making seven starts and turning aside 26 shots in the process. Starr (Highland Village, Texas/Edward S. Marcus HS) enters the mix after winning a pair of area championships for Marcus High School and a club title for the D'Feeters in the 2015 Dallas International Girls Cup. 

After a record-breaking year on the backline in 2017, the Eagles add Logan Oldani and Syniah Clark to their defensive group in 2018. Oldani (Spring, Texas/Klein HS) won district crowns at Klein High School in each of her final three seasons there and was tabbed a 'defensive standout' by TopDrawerSoccer.com in 2016 because of her efforts. Clark (Cape Coral, Fla./Ida Baker HS) joins the Eagles on the pitch this season after being named All-State and the All-Area player of the year twice for Ida Baker. 

FGCU brings in a large group of new midfielders to the lineup this season, including four true freshman and a transfer. Opal Curless comes to Fort Myers after playing at Syracuse the past two seasons. With the Orange, Curless (Mount Desert, Maine/Mount Desert Island HS/Syracuse) played in 35 games, drawing 12 starts while putting 15 shots on net. Four other true freshmen will don the green and blue this season including Ashlee Brentlinger, Kara Kyramarios, Nicole Cook, and Brianna Hatfield. Brentlinger (Middletown, Del./Padua Academy) was the Gatorade Player of the Year in Delaware, leading Pandua Academy to three state championships while earning All-State honors in each season for the Pandas. Kyramarios (Titusville, Fla,/Titusville HS) was a five-time State Cup finalist and two time champion at Titusville, drawing the captains band in three of those seasons. Cook (Pflugerville, Texas/Pflugerville HS) joins the Eagles from the Lone Star State where she starred for the Austin Sting, winning the Florida Cup in 2014 and claiming an IMG Cup Championship along the way. Hatfield (Godfrey, Ill./Alton HS) put up 135 points in a 77 match career at Alton, earning the captains nod twice as well as All-State honors a pair of times.  During her junior season, Hatfield put the ball in the back of the net 20 times including seven game winners for the Redbirds. 

The final two newcomers to the Eagles in 2018 come up front in freshman Alyssa Abbondandolo and All-American transfer Evdokia Popadinova.  Abbondandolo (Cape Coral, Fla./Oasis HS) ended her career at Oasis as the all-time leading goal scorer for the Sharks and played locally for Global Premiere and North Fort Myers on the club circuit.  Popadinova (Hadzhidimovo, Bulgaria/Nikola Vaptsarov/Northwestern Ohio) transfers to FGCU after two All-American seasons at Northwestern Ohio.  As a freshman, she helped the Racers to a National Championship, putting up 34 points including 12 goals in 14 starts.  As a sophomore she started 22 matches, finishing with 19 goals and 15 assists as NWOH made another National semifinal appearance.

RETURNERS
The Eagles bring back a wealth of talent to the field this year starting with the 2018 ASUN Preseason Goaltender of the Year Melissa Weck. Weck (Yorba Linda, Calif./Esperanza HS) was just the second FGCU goalkeeper in history to win Keeper of the Year honors last season.  She notched nine shutouts and made 60 saves a season ago, posting a 0.75 goals against average in 19 matches.  Also back in net for the Eagles is Natalie Schaps (Guatemala City, Guatamala/American School of Guatemala) who made her name on the U17 circuit for her home country of Guatemala before sitting out her first year in Fort Myers as a redshirt. 

Arguably the core of the 2017 ASUN Championship team, three defenders return to the mix for the Eagles, a year after posting one of the best defensive seasons in program history.   The 2018 ASUN Preseason Defender of the Year Lindsey Patton headlines the group.  Patton (Jacksonville, Fla./Oakleaf HS) was a First Team All-Conference pick a season ago, playing all but 29 minutes on the year while helping FGCU limit opponents to just 14 goals all season. Also returning on the backline are stalwarts Camille Knudstrup and Petra Smetkova.  Knudstrup (Lakeland, Fla./George Jenkins HS) was a Second Team All-Conference selection as a junior last season, starting 18 matches and scoring four times to go along with seven assists.  Smetkova (Korycany, Czech Republic/Klvanovo Gymnazium/Arkansas) made 10 appearances for the green and blue a season ago, logging 256 minutes on the year.

FGCU brings back a big group of returners at the midfield led by preseason All-ASUN selection Holly Fritz.  Fritz (Cape Coral, Fla./Mariner HS/Florida State) was a First Team All-Conference pick as a junior in 2017, notching 10 assists on the year to rank in the top 10 nationally.  Fellow senior Shay Jackson (Parkville, Mo./Park Hill South HS) will look to go out with a bang after suiting up for 27 Eagle matches in her first three years in Fort Myers.  Silvana Gordon (Medford N.J./Shawnee HS) comes back for her junior year, one year removed from seeing action in 18 matches for the Eagles.  Four second year players return to the mix in the midfield for FGCU including Cassidy Morgan, Tori Dorr, Hope Van Wagner, and Kavina Ganeshan. Morgan (Weston, Fla./Cypress Bay HS) made her way onto the All-Freshman team in the ASUN last season, finishing second among conference rookies with 13 points on the year. Dorr (Vero Beach, Fla./Vero Beach HS) sat out last year with an injury after logging more than 500 minutes in 18 matches as a freshman in 2016. Like Morgan, Van Wagner (Avon, Ind./Avon HS) was named to the ASUN All-Freshman team a year ago after seeing time in 19 games while notching two goals and three assists for the Eagles.  Ganeshan (Pickering, Ontario/Pickering HS) appeared in three matches for FGCU in 2017, playing a total of 58 minutes including a season high 33 against Webber International late in the season. 

Up front the Eagles return a number of notable names as well including 2018 ASUN Preseason Player of the Year Marjorie Boilesen.  Boilesen (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Porto Seguro/West Florida) had a breakout year in her first season in Fort Myers, leading the ASUN in both goals and points in 2017. Her 11 goals and 31 points on the year both ranked 5^th on FGCU's all-time single season lists.  Also returning to the fold is Emilie Olsen (Frekhaug, Norway/Tertnes VGS) who battled through injuries in 2017 to make 14 appearances and tally a pair of assists for the Eagles.  Megan Young (White Lake, Mich./Walled Lake Northern HS) missed 2017 with an injury after a promising first year with the Eagles in which she played in 18 matches, scoring once and adding four helpers in 513 minutes of action.  Zoey Spitzer (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast HS) was another All-Freshman team selection last season in the ASUN after she started all 19 fixtures and played 1600 minutes for FGCU.  Morgan Hawes (Coconut Creek, Fla./North Broward Prep) also returns to the Eagles lineup after sitting out 2017 following a 19 goal season as a senior in 2016 at North Broward. 
 
PRESEASON FAVORITES
FGCU is a heavy favorite to repeat as ASUN Champions for the ninth straight year in 2018 after receiving eight of nine first place votes in the preseason coaches' poll. 

The Eagles continue to chase history in that category as they currently have the longest active conference championship streak in the nation and are slowly creeping up on the all-time mark of 15 set by Penn State from 1998-2012.
 
THE GEORGIA SOUTHERN EAGLES
Georgia Southern is coming off of a 8-9-2 season in which they went 4-5-1 in the Sun Belt to draw a six seed for the conference tournament. The Eagles were able to pull off an upset of 3rd seeded Troy in the first round of the Sun Belt Tournament, but their Cinderella slipper fell off in the semifinals with a loss to Coastal Carolina to end their season.

The Eagles, who were picked sixth in the preseason Sun Belt coaches poll, bring back a solid number of returners for the 2018 campaign including leading scorer Frida Brattum who put the ball in the back of the net five times for Georgia Southern a year ago.

Friday night marks just the second meeting in the series after FGCU went to Statesboro last season and collected a 3-0 win. 
 
THE UCF KNIGHTS
UCF is coming off of a banner season in 2017 as the Knights went 16-2-3 overall and undefeated in American Athletic Conference play to climb all the way to #8 in the NCAA rankings by years end.  Unfortunately, UCF was stunned at home 1-0 by Washington State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament despite outshooting the Cougars 19-5 in the contest. 

This season, the Knights open up the year ranked 16^th by the United Soccer Coaches and are picked by the AAC coaches to repeat as champions in 2018.  They return a wealth of talent including AAC preseason Goalkeeper of the Year Vera Varis who allowed just five goals last season and 2017 AAC Rookie of the Year Dina Orschmann who finished her freshman year as the Knights shots leader while collecting six goals and eight assists in the process. 

FGCU and UCF have met five times on the pitch with the Knights holding a 4-0-1 series advantage.  The Eagles lone result in the series came in 2011 in a 0-0 tie in Orlando. 
 
TICKETS
Single game tickets are $7 for adults, $5 for youth (age 3-15) and Military w/ID.  Season tickets are $55 each (one ticket to all 11 home games) which saves 28% off of the adult single game rate.  Fall Frequent Flyer Cards are $99 each and include 26 entries to regular season home women's soccer, men's soccer, and volleyball matches. Those 26 admissions can be used for multiple people in any combination and save 45% off the adult single game rate.  All Sports Passes are $172 and include a Fall Frequent Flier Card as well as Frequent Flier Cards for Baseball and Softball and save over 70% off of the adult single game rate. Contact the FGCU ticket office at 239-590-7145 for more information.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
For constant, news, photos, videos and updates you can follow the women's soccer team on Twitter @FGCU_WSoccer, on Instagram @FGCU_WSoccer or on Facebook: Facebook.com/FGCUWSoccer. You can also find FGCU athletics on YouTube by visiting YouTube.com/FGCUEagles.
 
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 and 2015, has built FGCU women's soccer into a yearly contender in the ASUN Conference and a rising program in the South Region in just 11 seasons. Blankenship started the program in 2007 and has since guided the Eagles to 11 double-digit win seasons, culminating with ASUN Regular Season Championships in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017. In 2011 and 2012 he also led the Eagles to back-to-back ASUN Tournament titles and 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 143-51-21 (71.1 W%) overall record through the first 11 seasons of the program's existence, including a 71-11-14 (81.1 W%) mark in the ASUN. Blankenship's impressive career record of 383-122-32 (74.2 W%) over 25 seasons has come while leading FGCU, the University of Miami, Lynn University and St. Thomas University.
 
#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events throughout the year 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.