Florida Gulf Coast women’s soccer signs Swedish Youth National Team midfielder

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Head coach Jim Blankenship has announced that the Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) women’s soccer team will have an additional newcomer for the spring 2021 semester, as Olivia Lindstedt will be joining the five-time ASUN Coach of the Year’s squad.

“We are really excited to add Olivia to our team,” Blankenship said. “She has already proven her success throughout her playing career and her experience with the Swedish Youth National Team will translate well into our system. We look forward to adding a player of her caliber to our team.”

A member of the Swedish Youth National Team, Lindstedt hails from Gluumslov, Sweden and has appeared in international qualifiers in both 2018 and 2019. More recently, she has played with FC Rosengard, which plays in the country’s highest division (Allsvenskan).

In addition to her athletic success, Lindstedt has also earned top academic marks throughout high school and received a pair of academic awards for her performances in the ninth and 12th grades. Academic opportunities, as well as the coaches’ philosophies and the team atmosphere, were part of the reason that the midfielder chose FGCU.

With the addition of Lindstedt, Blankenship has completed his 2020-21 team, which features 13 new Eagles. The 30-player squad will be on the hunt for its seventh ASUN Tournament title and will be led by a pair of returning All-ASUN selections from a season ago in senior Zoey Spitzer (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast HS) and sophomore Louise Lillback (Stockholm, Sweden/Tibble Gymnasium), who earned Second Team and All-Freshmen Team honors, respectively.

Though the non-conference slate has yet to be finalized, the ASUN has released its conference schedule, announcing that FGCU women’s soccer will kick off league play with a game against UNF on Saturday, Feb. 27. The rest of the schedule can be found here and will be updated as games are locked in.