COLLEGE STATION, Texas –The FGCU women's soccer team (4-2-0) fell on the road to nationally ranked Texas A&M (5-1-1) on Thursday night by a score of 2-1 despite senior Shannen Wacker netting her first goal of the season. The Eagles fell behind early but battled back to tie the score before surrendering an early second half score that proved enough to secure the result in the Aggies favor.

"I'm really proud of our players and the effort they put forth even though we didn't get the result we wanted," head coach Jim Blankenship said. "We got off to a tough start giving up the goal in the fifth minute but I was pleased with the way we settled in and found a way to equalize. After being in such an unbelievable environment against such a highly ranked opponent I think we have a chance now to learn and grow as a team. It was a good experience and now it's time to get better."

Texas A&M came out of the gates firing and put FGCU behind on the scoreboard in just the fifth minute off of a set piece at the top of the box. Karlie Mueller served a ball across the box and found the head of Meghan Streight who redirected her try past a diving Brittany Brown to give the Aggies a 1-0 lead.

The Eagles wasted little time equalizing when in the 14th minute, Wacker stripped the ball away from the Texas A&M defense on the left side of the penalty area and moved across the middle before firing a shot home for her first score of the season. The senior now sit alone in third place on the all-time goals list with 22, just two shy of the program record of 24.

The Eagles would take the tie score into the midpoint break trailing 14-3 in the shot column. Brown made five saves in the opening frame and would finish the game with eight saves to her credit.

The Aggies wasted no time in the second half re-taking the lead when Kelly Monogue took a one-touch pass to the right corner of the six-yard box and fired her shot in the left side of the net, providing the eventual final score of 2-1. FGCU would muster just a pair of shots in the second frame and closed the game with a 22-5 shot deficit.

The reigning Atlantic Sun Player of the Week Tabby Tindell would not register a shot in the game after letting loose 12 over the first five games, scoring six goals. Along with moving into third on the all-time goals list, Wacker now moves closer to taking over as the all-time points leader. With 61 points in her career the Parker, Colo. native is just seven points shy of tying Lindsay Haw's record of 68.­­­­

NEXT UP
FGCU will then return to Tampa, Fla. to square off with No. 16 South Carolina (5-1-0) on a neutral field. The game will take place at USF and will be the first meeting between the two programs. The Gamecocks were 17-4-2 overall last season advanced out of the SEC to the NCAA Tournament with an at-large selection where they would defeat Furman, 5-0 before falling to Stanford, 1-0 in overtime. South Carolina finished the season ranked No. 15 in the NSCAA Coaches Poll. The Gamecocks are currently 5-1 with victories over East Carolina, 2-0, Samford, 2-0, Boston University, 1-0 and Milwaukee, 2-0 before falling to Clemson at home, 1-0. They defeated High Point 2-0 on Sunday afternoon and will take on USF before squaring off with FGCU on Sunday at 2 p.m.

#WINGSUP
Fans are encouraged to download the brand-new Wings Up mobile app in conjunction with SuperFanU prior to arriving at Sunday's match. 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.