FORT MYERS, Fla. – It took sophomore
Tabby Tindell just 5:02 to score two goals opposite CSU Bakersfield (1-8-1) on Sunday afternoon to become the FGCU women's soccer (6-3) all-time goals leader with 25 in just her 29th game in the Green and Blue.
Tindell picked up her fifth game-winning goal, has now scored multiple goals in a game four times this season, becomes the first Atlantic Sun individual to reach double-digit scores and closes her memorable weekend at home with four goals and one assist.
"Tabby has been unbelievable," head coach
Jim Blankenship said of his record-breaking forward. "She's a very motivated kid and very humble. My thought is that we're blessed to have her and I think she will continue to do wonderful things because she's grounded and I know she would say that this about our team doing well; that's her focus."
The Ocala, Fla. native scored her first goal on just the second shot attempt of the afternoon when
Paulina Speckmaier led her with a pass down the center of the field allowing Tindell to carry the ball deep into the box before easing a shot low past the goalkeeper. Less than two minutes later, Speckmaier fed
Shannen Wacker who fired a shot that the Roadrunners keeper was able to stop but the deflected ball bounded out to Tindell who capitalized on a wide-open net to deposit the record-breaking score.
With 25 goals and seven assists (57 points) in her career Tindell now ranks in a tie for third on the all-time points with Amber McCall and behind only Wacker (64 points) and Lindsay Haw (68 points) after becoming just the fourth individual to reach the 50-point plateau on Friday night.
There has been no sophomore slump for Tindell who put together one of, if not the greatest individual seasons in program history in just her first year suiting up for the Green and Blue. She established single-season program records in points (34), goals (15), goals per game (0.75), shots (71), shots per game (3.55), shots on goal (44) and shots on goal per game (2.20) and is well on her way to challenging those marks again.
Speckmaier would score the only other FGCU goal in this one and it would come at the 25 minute mark when
Emma Blackwell drove into CSUB territory and crossed the ball to
Kaitlin Parker who had to the fight the ball away from the goalkeeper before sending a pass to Speckmaier waiting at the top of the box. The sophomore fired home the third and final goal of the afternoon for her fourth score of the 2014 season. Add in her two assists on Sunday and she becomes the third FGCU individual along with Wacker and Tindell to reach double-digit points this season.
Brittany Brown would be tested just once in this game but the stop she was forced to make late in the second half was a spectacular one. Hedda Regefalk broke free of the FGCU defense in the 81st minute and ran untouched down the center of the field with just Brown to beat. The junior came well out of the goal to challenge Regefalk and managed to step in front of the shot at the top of the box to preserve the clean sheet.
By the end of it all the Eagles would outshoot CSU Bakersfield 23-1 finishing the weekend with a 52-2 shot advantage over their two opponents and securing back-to-back shutouts for the second time this season.
NEXT UPThe Eagles hit the road once again, this time for four-straight beginning with a trip to Jacksonville, Fla. for a date with North Florida, to begin the defense of their A-Sun regular season title. FGCU downed the Ospreys 3-0 at the FGCU Soccer Complex last season and hold a 5-1-1 all-time series lead. So far this season UNF has posted a 1-7 record with the lone victory coming in the form of a 2-1 result opposite The Citadel.
From Jacksonville the Eagles will fly north to Philadelphia to take on the Explorers of La Salle on Sept. 28. La Salle was 15-5-3 last season and 5-2-1 in the Atlantic 10 Conference. The Explorers won their second-consecutive A-10 title on penalty kicks over Dayton, advancing to the NCAA Tournament where they fell to Georgetown, 2-0. It will be FGCU's first meeting with La Salle. The Explorers are 3-3-2 this season with victories over Northeastern, Pittsburgh and James Madison. They fell, 4-1, at No. 21 West Virginia on Friday night and welcome former A-10 foe Temple before welcoming the Eagles.
#WINGSUPFans 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 ALONGFor 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.
TICKETSSingle-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.