The FGCU women's soccer team (6-3-0, 1-0-0 A-SUN) picked up its first A-SUN Conference win of the season, handing North Alabama (4-6-0, 0-1-0 A-SUN) a 3-1 loss Thursday night at the Bill Jones Athletic Complex. Freshman Louise Lillback finished the night with two goals and an assist, marking her best performance as an Eagle so far.
"Tonight, we had a great second half and I was happy to see that the players responded to what we talked about at halftime," head coach Jim Blankenship said. "I'm really pleased with our overall effort and the result we were able to get. Getting points on the road is always a good thing and we look at this win as one down, a lot to go."
Though the teams went into the break scoreless, FGCU outplayed the Lions in the opening 45 minutes. Senior Evdokia Popadinova took her first shot of the night just three minutes into the first half as the Eagles' offense immediately put the pressure on North Alabama's back line. Popadinova and sophomore Ashlee Brentlinger each tallied shots on-frame that were narrowly saved by the Lions' keeper. FGCU outshot North Alabama 6-2 before halftime.
The Eagles were able to get past the Lions' goalie in the second half as Lillback put the team on the board in the 52nd minute. Brentlinger and redshirt-junior Megan Young assisted on the shot that gave FGCU its initial lead. Less than two minutes later, Popadinova found the back of the net from almost 30 yards out after collecting a pass from Lillback, notching her fifth goal of the season and putting the team up 2-0. Aside from her fifth goal of the season, Popadinova now has
North Alabama's Shelby Wall chipped away at the Green and Blue lead in the 58th minute with a shot that she snuck by senior Melissa Weck. Lillback responded with her second goal of the night, knocking in a pass from sophomore Kara Kyramarios that re-extended the team's lead to 3-1. The shot marked Lillback's first multi-goal game of her career.
The Lions made another attempt on Weck (7-3), but the keeper made her second and final save of the night as the Eagles held on to their win.
The victory over the Lions marks FGCU's first road win of the season and the team's three goals are the most they've scored in a single game this year.
Up Next:
The Eagles will continue the road swing with a match against reigning A-SUN champ Lipscomb on Sunday, Sept. 29. Kick off against the Bison is slated for 2 p.m. at the Lipscomb Soccer Complex. It will be the 17th meeting in the history between the two programs, which FGCU leads 10-3-3.
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