FORT MYERS, Fla. –  Head coach Jim Blankenship earned his 100th win at the helm of the No. 25 FGCU women's soccer team (16-3, 7-0 A-Sun) on Friday night in the form of a 3-1 victory over Northern Kentucky (9-8-3, 3-3-1 A-Sun) in the semifinals of the 2014 Atlantic Sun Championship, guiding the Eagles to a fourth-straight trip to the title match. FGCU will match up with sixth-seeded Kennesaw State (8-10-1, 3-4 A-Sun) at 1 p.m. on Sunday (Nov. 9) at the FGCU Soccer Complex looking to secure an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

FGCU has played in the A-Sun Championship match in each of its four seasons of eligibility, winning the whole thing in its first two attempts before being upset in penalty kicks last season by Jacksonville. While going 6-0-1 in A-Sun tournament play, the Eagles had compiled a remarkable streak of 579:34 minutes without allowing a goal in the A-Sun tournament that was snapped on Friday night. Paulina Speckmaier, Tabby Tindell and Ally Kasun provided the goals for the Green and Blue who have now outscored NKU 13-1 in four meetings.

"I'm pleased, tonight was the start of a new chapter," Blankenship added. "It's what we tell our kids all season long. First it's the exhibition then the non-conference. Then it's the conference and these are the two games where you got to be really good. Hats off to Northern Kentucky, I have tons of respect for Bob (Sheehan) and what he's done for his program in two years, they're a very dangerous team and you saw that in the counter. I'm really pleased with our guys and the way we played. I really thought we had great energy and the movement of the ball was quick and the opportunities were there. It's not easy to get wins at this time of the year and that's the key. I'm really proud of our kids and the result.

After applying heavy pressure in the early going, FGCU finally broke through in the 12th minute when Ali Rogers worked the ball into the NKU box and fed a short pass to Shea Rhoney who then tapped the ball towards the middle for Speckmaier who came on and quickly fired a low shot past the goalkeeper to push the Eagles ahead 1-0. The goal was the Miami native's eighth of the season which is already and career high and ranks second in the A-Sun.

The Eagles closed the first half with an 8-2 shot advantage and a 5-1 edge in corner kicks. By the end of the match FGCU would outshoot NKU 17-5. FGCU goalkeeper Brittany Brown made one save in the victory, allowing just one goal. The junior has multiple goals in a match only three times this season and leads the A-Sun with a 0.64 goals-against average. She also sits atop the conference with a .840 save percentage.

The Eagles put the first tally of the second half on the board in the 55th minute thanks to Tindell who would net her league-leading 18th of the season. Shannen Wacker sent a hard pass from the left side of the box into the middle, finding an open Tindell who gathered the service with her back to the goal. She took one touch to turn fire a hard shot inside the near post to make it 2-0.

The third and final score of the evening for FGCU came in the 81st minute when Kasun carried the ball down the middle of the field before settling and firing a shot from about 20 yards out and finding the back of the net for the fourth time this season and third time against NKU. The Norse would generate a penalty kick in the 82nd minute and Macy Hamblin would convert to provide the final score of 3-1.

FGCU vs. KENNESAW STATE – OCT. 5, 2014
It was just six seconds into the third minute of overtime when a corner kick found its way to Ali Rogers who fired home her first score of the 2014 season to lift the FGCU women's soccer team to a 2-1 victory at Kennesaw State.

2014 SEASON
The magical, record-shattering season continues for the Green and Blue who have now won a program record 16 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 12 consecutive matches, outscoring their opponents 33-5 with seven shutouts, including a 15-2 advantage against A-Sun competition during the regular season. 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.

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 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 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.

*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

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

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 100-35-17 overall record over the first eight seasons of the program's existence, including a 54-9-9 mark in the A-Sun.

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.

#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.