FORT MYERS, Fla. –  The FGCU women's soccer team (15-3, 7-0 A-Sun) will open up its 2014 Atlantic Sun Championship tournament on Friday night at 7 p.m. by welcoming fifth-seeded Northern Kentucky (9-7-3, 3-3-1 A-Sun) to the FGCU Soccer Complex with second-seeded Lipscomb (10-6-2, 4-2-1 A-Sun) matching up with sixth-seeded Kennesaw State (7-10-1, 3-4 A-Sun) at 4 p.m. The Eagles will be in search of a fourth-straight trip to the A-Sun Championship Finals and ultimately a third A-Sun title and third trip to the NCAA Tournament.

The Championship final will take place at 1 p.m. on Sunday (Nov. 9). Should NKU, who is competing in the postseason for the first time as a Div. I program, upset FGCU on Friday night and go on to win the tournament, FGCU will receive the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament as the regular season champion. Lipscomb and Kennesaw State each need to win the tournament to receive the automatic bid.

2014 SEASON
The magical, record-shattering season continues for the Green and Blue who have now won a program record 15 games. Since dropping a 2-0 result to No. 16 South Carolina on Sept. 14 on a neutral field, the Eagles have won a program record 11 consecutive matches, outscoring their opponents 30-4 with seven shutouts, including a 15-2 advantage against A-Sun competition. FGCU went 6-2 on the road during the regular season, a perfect 9-0 at home and extended its unbeaten streak against conference opponents at home to 26 games which is tied for the third longest such streak in the nation. While going 5-0-1 in A-Sun tournament play, the Eagles have also compiled an active streak of 498:12 minutes without allowing a goal in the A-Sun tournament.

NORTHERN KENTUCKY
The Norse are the first program in school history to participate in NCAA Div. I postseason play and made the most of their first opportunity, defeating fourth-seeded North Florida (5-12-1, 3-3-1 A-Sun), 2-0, in Jacksonville. Aubrey Muench and Jessica Frey scored the goals for NKU who enter the match with FGCU having never scored on the Eagles in three meetings all-time. FGCU has outscored NKU 10-0 in those three matches with Ally Kasun scoring both goals in the Eagles' 2-0 victory when these two programs met at FGCU on Oct. 10. Macy Hamblin is the A-Sun Freshman of the Year following a brilliant rookie campaign where she ranked in a tie for second in the A-Sun with seven goals and fourth with 18 points. Hamblin played just 15 minutes in the first meeting with FGCU this season.

HIGHEST RPI
The latest NCAA Women's Soccer RPI was released on Monday afternoon and the Eagles fall in at No. 31 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 surpassed their 2013 win total. An RPI that high gives the Eagles a legitimate chance at being an at-large selection to the NCAA Tournament should they fail to win the A-Sun Tournament.

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. 3 in the latest RPI rankings and South Carolina falls in at No. 11 while inclement weather and lightning prevented FGCU from playing No. 17 UCF to begin the season. The Eagles claimed crucial victories over La Salle and Arizona who now rank at 23 and 27, respectively.

NCAA TOURNAMENT
The NCAA Tournament first round matches will be held Nov. 14-16 at home sites. Should the Eagles advance to the NCAA Tournament they may receive the opportunity, depending on where their final RPI lands/which seed they are awarded, to host a first round match. Each school with intentions of hosting an NCAA Tournament match needs to place a bid to do so for each individual round. If a higher-seeded opponent does not bid to host a match, the lower-seeded school will host. The top-16 teams in the nation, as perceived by the selection committee will receive seeds 1-4 with the remaining 48 teams being matched up accordingly based on RPI and region. The selection show for the tournament will take place on Monday, Nov. 10 at 4:30 p.m. live on NCAA.com.

NATIONALLY RANKED #25 – TopDrawerSoccer.com
For the second week in-a-row the FGCU women's soccer team is nationally ranked; checking in at No. 25 in this week's TopDrawerSoccer.com Women's DI Top 25 Poll. The Eagles became the first A-Sun program to complete an undefeated and untied conference regular season since the year 2000.

The Eagles fall in behind No. 20 BYU (13-3-3, 7-0-1 WCC), No. 21 South Carolina (12-4-3, 5-3-3 SEC), who were the last team to beat the Eagles, No. 22 Rutgers (12-4-1, 8-4-1 B1G), No. 23 Kentucky (13-5-0, 8-3 SEC) and No. 24 Washington State (10-4-3, 5-4-1 Pac-12). La Salle (12-4-2, 8-0 A10), who the Eagles defeated 3-2 on the road, checks in at No. 29. FGCU is one of four ranked teams from the state of Florida along with No. 2 Florida State (16-1-1, 9-0-1 ACC), No. 9 Florida (14-4, 9-2 SEC) and No. 16 UCF (16-3, 8-1 American). Only California has as many schools listed in the Top 25. The Women's Top 25 poll in its entirety can be found here.

A-SUN CHAMPIONSHIP TICKETS
Single-game tickets for 2014 A-Sun Women's Soccer Championship are available at a cost of $6 for adults, $3 for children (12 and under), $18 for a Family Pack (2 Adults, 2-5 Children under the age of 12) and $4 per person in a group of 15 or more. Students of an A-Sun institution get free admission with their Student ID. For more ticket information and additional deals, visit FGCUathletics.com/tickets, visit or call the ticket office at 239-590-7145.

A-SUN POSTSEASON AWARDS
The Eagles matched their own A-Sun record, set a season ago, with six individuals named to the A-Sun All-Conference First Team. Alongside Player of the Year Tabby Tindell (Ocala, Fla./Trinity Catholic HS) and Defensive Player of the Year Emma Blackwell, Brittany Brown, Paulina Speckmaier, Ally Kasun and Shannen Wacker all received recognition on the A-Sun First Team. Melissa Arnold was the lone FGCU representative on the Second Team, giving the Green and Blue a league-best seven honorees.

TABBY TINDELL – 2014 A-SUN PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Tindell, the preseason A-Sun Player of the Year, has been as good as advertised this season. She ranks top five in the nation in five offensive categories including game-winning goals (9 – First), points (41 – Third), Goals (17 – Third), Points Per Game (2.28 – Fourth) and Goals Per Game (0.944 – Fifth). Her 17 goals and 41 points both lead the A-Sun by wide margins over her own teammates and both are also FGCU single-season records. Her 17 goals have come on ten fewer shots than she took all of last season. She has set the FGCU all-time goals record with 32 in her career and is second only to Wacker with 75 points. Tindell has also showed a pension for distribution by handing out seven assists, which rank second in the A-Sun behind Wacker's 13.

She opened up the season with a bang by scoring two goals against Pac-12 foe Arizona then scored again five days later at Miami to give the Eagles a 2-0 start. She would score multiple goals in a match three more times before heading north to La Salle where she would score twice more to guide the Eagles to a 3-2 shootout victory in overtime. She has collected 12 points against A-Sun opponents this year with five goals and a pair of assists. During the Eagles record 11-game winning streak she has scored at least one point in each match. She was named the A-Sun Player of the Week three times this season and chosen to the TopDrawerSoccer.com National Team of the Week three times while also being ranked by TopDrawer as the No. 92 player in the nation. She is the first Player of the Year for FGCU since KC Correllus in 2010.

EMMA BLACKWELL – 2014 A-SUN DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Blackwell, the preseason A-Sun Defensive Player of the Year, is the anchor of the FGCU defense that has allowed just 11 goals this season and only two to A-Sun opponents. The Jenks, Okla. native is consistently asked to mark the top offensive threat of the opposition for a defense that has shutout 10 opponents. She has started all 18 matches and left just one with an injury, otherwise playing every minute of every match for a total of 1554. She picked up her first point of the season in the form of an assist at home against CSU Bakersfield. She scored her first goal against Palm Beach Atlantic on a shot that she fired from approximately 40 yards outside the goal mouth. Her three points from the back line match her 2013 season total.

JIM BLANKENSHIP – 2014 A-SUN COACH OF THE YEAR
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 as well, 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 99-35-17 overall record over the first eight seasons of the program's existence, including a 54-9-9 mark in the A-Sun.

*PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Tabby Tindell, FGCU
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Emma Blackwell, FGCU
GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR – Anna Buhigas, Lipscomb
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR – Macy Hamblin, Northern Kentucky
COACH OF THE YEAR – Jim Blankenship, FGCU

BRITTANY BROWN – 2014 ALL-A-SUN FIRST TEAM
Brown ranks second in the A-Sun in save percentage (.849) and leads the league in goals-against average (0.62) after being named the A-Sun Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year. Since taking over the starting role during her freshman campaign, Brown has collected 40 wins, which rank second all-time in FGCU history (42), against just nine losses and seven ties. She is currently the FGCU career leader in three goalkeeping categories including goals-against average (0.70), saves per game (3.70) and save percentage (.841). She was named A-Sun Defensive Player of the Week once this season following a pair of stellar performances against the No. 2 and 3-seeds in the A-Sun Tournament, Lipscomb and Jacksonville. She has collected nine shutouts this season which tie a career high and are just three shy of the FGCU single-season record of 12.

LAST TIME OUT
The Eagles battled a stingy Stetson for 90 minutes in the regular season finale but that wouldn't be enough and took a 22-1 shot advantage into overtime where in the 100th minute, Julia Roddar (Falun, Sweden/Shattuck-St. Mary's Secondary School/Wisconsin) fed Wacker who used one-touch to find Tindell open in the box for the one-touch shot that found its way to the far-side corner of the net for the game-clinching tally.

RECEIVING VOTES - NSCAA
The Eagles received five votes in National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll on Tuesday afternoon, falling into the No. 34 spot. It is the third time this season that the Green and Blue have been considered in this poll. FGCU sits behind Washington (60 votes), Oklahoma State (19), USC (17), Santa Clara (14), Arizona State (8), Georgetown (7), Uconn (6) and Northeastern (5). Everyone is chasing No. 25 Michigan who received 69 votes this week. The entire NSCAA Top 25 poll can be found here.

FGCU OPPONENTS RPI
3 – Texas A&M
11 – South Carolina
23 – La Salle
25 – USF
27 – Arizona
31 – FGCU
154 – Kennesaw State
157 – FIU
159 – Miami
160 – Jacksonville
171 – Lipscomb
182 – Murray State
235 – Wofford
243 – Northern Kentucky
265 – North Florida
292 – CSU Bakersfield
280 – Stetson
318 – USC Upstate

 

2014 Atlantic Sun Standings
Team	A-Sun Record	Points	Overall
#1 FGCU	7-0-0	21	15-3-0
#2 Lipscomb	4-2-1	13	10-6-2
#3 Jacksonville	4-3-0	12	10-8-1
#4 North Florida	3-3-1	10	5-12-1
#5 Northern Kentucky	3-3-1	10	9-7-3
#6 Kennesaw State	3-4-0	9	7-10-1
Stetson	2-5-0	6	5-12-1
USC Upstate	0-6-1	1	3-13-1
#Seed in A-Sun Championship (Nov. 1-9)

NATIONAL RANKS (As of Nov. 2)
1 - Game-Winning Goals – Tabby Tindell (9)
4 – Points – Tabby Tindell (41)
4 - Goals – Tabby Tindell (17)
4 – Points Per Game – Tabby Tindell (2.28)
6 – Goals Per Game – Tabby Tindell (.944)
7 – Assists – Shannen Wacker (13)

A-SUN PLAYER OF THE WEEK
The Eagles can boast a league-best seven Player of the Week selections this season.
Aug. 25 – Tabby Tindell – Player of the Week
Sept. 2 – Ashley Parks – Defensive Player of the Week
Sept. 8 – Tabby Tindell – Player of the Week
Sept. 22 – Tabby Tindell – Player of the Week
Sept. 29 – Shannen Wacker – Player of the Week
Oct. 6 – Melissa Arnold – Defensive Player of the Week
Oct. 20 – Brittany Brown – Defensive Player of the Week

#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.

#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.