FORT MYERS, Fla. –  The FGCU women's soccer team (14-3, 6-0 Atlantic Sun) tied the program single-season wins record with a 4-0 defeat of Palm Beach Atlantic (2-7-1) at the FGCU Soccer Complex on Wednesday night, extending its already program-best win streak to 10 games. The Eagles will welcome Stetson (5-11-1, 2-4 A-Sun) at home on Saturday night to conclude the regular season, before which the six FGCU seniors will be honored as part of Senior Night.  

Ally Kasun opened the scoring for FGCU in the fifth minute and Emma Blackwell provided the insurance late in the first half to put this one out of reach. Shannen Wacker collected four points with a pair of assists and her sixth goal of the season while Julia Roddar contributed her first goal of the season to complete the scoring. Wacker's two helpers tied the FGCU single-season assists record held by Ashely Ciesielczyk who accomplished the feat during the 2011 season and put her four back of Ciesielczyk's all-time record of 28 helpers.

"We say before every match that if you don't give up a goal you can't lose," head coach Jim Blankenship said. "I think our guys really focus in on that so it's in important and it's nice to get a clean sheet … It's difficult to crack a team that puts that many kids in the back so we got a little bit impatient and a little bit too direct but in the second half I thought our guys came out and set the tone, scored an early goal, really kept the ball and just kept the pressure on. I was pleased with it, it's a good result and it keeps us on the right track."
 
The 2014 Atlantic Sun Regular Season Champions peppered the PBA defense with shots in the early going. Wacker took the ball in the fifth minute and drove along the baseline on the left side before sliding the ball to an open Kasun at the top of the box who used one touch to fire a shot into the top-left corner of the net to get the scoring started.

The Eagles continued to apply the pressure but generated limited chances in the middle part of the first half. Kasun fed Blackwell at midfield in the 39th minute and the Jenks, Okla. native carried the ball, untouched, down the middle before firing a shot from about 40 yards out that found its mark past the diving Sailfish goalkeeper to push the Eagles ahead, 2-0.  Blackwell scored a goal in almost the exact same fashion in match at the FGCU Soccer Complex against Jacksonville last season.

At the break the Eagles held a 12-0 advantage in the shot column and a 24-1 advantage by the end of the night. The Green and Blue forced PBA goalkeeper Kayla Wincko to make 12 saves after facing 16 shots on goal. Brittany Brown played 58:44 minutes and was relieved by Emily Dolan who made her first appearance of the season and played the remaining 31:16. With Brown's exit, Shey Rhoney is now the only Eagle to have played every minute so far this season.

In the second half Wacker created an almost identical chance that she created for Kasun in the first in the 49th minute but this time served Roddar who took one touch and fired home her first score of the season. The Falun, Sweden native gave FGCU its seventh match with three goals or more this season. The Eagles have scored at least two goals in every match during the 10-game win streak.

Kaitlin Parker created the final scoring opportunity for the Eagles when she fed Tabby Tindell, who would be held goal-less for just the sixth time this season, who then slid the ball on to an open Wacker in the middle of the box for a one-touch re-direct into the back of the net to close out the scoring. Wacker now has 78 points in her career which are already a program record. Tindell has now recorded at least one point in 10 consecutive matches, scoring 25 points (10 goals, 5 assists) in that span.

STETSON
Holding a 6-1 advantage in the all-time series, FGCU has not lost to the Hatters since 2007 and defeated SU last season on the road 4-0. The Hatters are 5-11-1 in 2014 with a 2-4 record in A-Sun play. Stetson is led by Sarah Collins who has scored three goals this season to go with four assists for a total of 10 points. Eduarda Pavao leads the Hatters with four goals this season against one assist while Mara Keomanivane, Alexis Trybinski, Danielle Hurme and Allison Zaccheo have each contributed three goals to the cause. The Hatters have produced a total of 71 points on offense while four different goalkeepers have tried their hand in net. Karlie Hightower has played the most minutes in goal with 978:19 and has a 2-7 record with a 2.30 goals-against average and a team-high 37 saves.

RECEIVING VOTES
FGCU is receiving votes in the TopDrawerSoccer.com College Soccer National Ranking Women's D1 Top 25 poll this week, falling in at No. 27. This marks the second consecutive week FGCU has been included in the poll and it comes in the wake of the Eagles defeating Jacksonville on Saturday night to secure a record fifth-consecutive A-Sun Regular Season Championship.

The Eagles fall in behind only Michigan (11-4-1. 7-2-1 B1G) among those who are receiving votes while California (10-4-1, 2-3-1 Pac-12), Georgia (10-3-1, 5-2-1 SEC), Arizona St. (9-2-4, 2-1-3 Pac-12), Georgetown (10-3-3, 4-1-1 Big East), South Carolina (11-4-1, 4-3-1 SEC) and Washington (10-4, 3-2 Pac-12) rank No. 20-25, respectively. Texas A&M (13-2-1, 7-1 SEC), who FGCU battled on the road earlier this season before falling 2-1, settles in at No. 6 in the poll. The Women's Top 25 poll in its entirety can be found here.

HIGHEST RPI
The NCAA Women's Soccer RPI was released on Monday as well and the Eagles fall in at No. 41 which is by far the best in the A-Sun and a program best this late in the season. The Green and Blue finished at No. 67 last season but have already matched their 2013 win total and will have a chance to best the program record of 14 wins prior to the end of the regular season.

Before the season began, FGCU had seven teams on the 2014 slate that finished ranked inside the top 83 in the RPI, three of which were ranked 15th or better. Those seven teams included Arizona (83), Miami (73), La Salle (63), USF (53), Texas A&M (15), South Carolina (14) and UCF (13). Texas A&M currently sits at No. 5 in the latest RPI rankings and South Carolina falls in at No. 10 while inclement weather and lightning prevented FGCU from playing No. 24 UCF to begin the season. The Eagles claimed crucial victories over La Salle and Arizona who now rank at 21 and 27, respectively.

LATELY
Since dropping a 2-0 result to No. 16 South Carolina on Sept. 14 on a neutral field, the Eagles have outscored their opponents 29-4 with six shutouts, including a 14-2 advantage against A-Sun competition. FGCU is 6-2 on the road this season and 8-0 at home.
 

2014 Atlantic Sun Standings
Team	A-Sun Record	Points	Overall
#1 FGCU	6-0-0	18	14-3-0
*Lipscomb	4-1-1	13	10-5-2
*North Florida	3-2-1	10	5-10-1
*Jacksonville	3-3-0	9	9-7-1
Northern Kentucky	2-3-1	7	6-7-3
Kennesaw State	2-3-0	6	5-10-1
Stetson	2-4-0	6	5-11-1
USC Upstate	0-5-1	1	2-12-1
*Clinched Spots in A-Sun Championship

NATIONAL RANKS (As of Oct. 16)
1 - Game-Winning Goals – Tabby Tindell (8)
3 - Goals – Tabby Tindell (16)
4 – Points – Tabby Tindell (38)
4 – Points Per Game – Tabby Tindell (2.38)
4 – Goals Per Game – Tabby Tindell (1.0)
9 – Assists – Shannen Wacker (10)

Longest Home Unbeaten Streaks vs. Conference Opponents
Dayton (A-10) – 30
*Boston University (Patriot League/America East) – 28
*North Texas (C-USA/Sun Belt) – 26
FGCU (A-Sun) – 25
*West Virginia (Big 12/Big East) – 24
South Dakota State (Summit League) – 23
*Streak spans multiple conference affiliations

FGCU OPPONENTS RPI
5 – Texas A&M
10 – South Carolina
21 – La Salle
27 – Arizona
41 – FGCU
43 – USF
152 – Lipscomb
156 – FIU
158 – Jacksonville
165 – Miami
182 – Kennesaw State
203 – Murray State
214 – Wofford
264 – North Florida
287 – CSU Bakersfield
290 – Stetson
324 – USC Upstate

JIM BLANKENSHIP
A veteran of over two decades in collegiate coaching, head coach Jim Blankenship, who was named the 2012 and 2013 A-Sun Coach of the Year, has built FGCU women's soccer into a yearly contender in the Atlantic Sun Conference and a rising program in the South Region in just eight seasons. Blankenship started the program in 2007 and has since guided the Eagles to eight double-digit win seasons, culminating with Atlantic Sun Regular Season Championships in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014. In 2011 and 2012 he also led the Eagles to back-to-back A-Sun tournament championships and became the first team in the history of the university to make it to the NCAA Tournament. Blankenship has guided FGCU to a 98-35-17 overall record over the first eight seasons of the program's existence, including a 53-9-9 mark in the A-Sun.

#WINGSUP
Fans are encouraged to download the brand-new Wings Up mobile app in conjunction with SuperFanU. The fully-customized loyalty-rewards platform allows fans to check in at each of FGCU's sporting events to earn points throughout the school year toward exclusive prizes that can't be offered anywhere else.

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.

TICKETS
Single-game tickets for FGCU Women's Soccer are available at a cost of $6 for adults and $3 for groups of ten (10) or more. Season tickets are also available. For more ticket information and additional deals, visit FGCUathletics.com/tickets, call or visit the ticket office at 239-590-7145.

#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.