JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The FGCU women's soccer team (7-3, 1-0 Atlantic Sun) began its quest for a fifth-consecutive A-Sun championship with a 3-0 victory at North Florida (1-9, 0-1 A-Sun) on Friday night thanks in large-part to a pair of goals from senior
Shannen Wacker who used those two scores to move into ties atop the FGCU all-time goals and points lists.
"We're really excited about the result and the start of conference play," head coach
Jim Blankenship added. "It was nice to see Wacker get two goals early on and take the pressure off. Overall I was really pleased with our effort tonight. It's not easy to win on the road in this league so I was glad to see our guys come out ready to play."
With 25 goals in her career
Wacker (Parker, Colo./Ponderosa HS) is tied with
Tabby Tindell (Ocala, Fla./Trinity Catholic HS) for the most goals in FGCU history while her 68 points match her will Lindsay Haw for the all-time points lead.
Both teams traded shots early on but in the 25th minute
Ally Kasun (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield HS) headed the ball on to Tindell who let loose a shot that deflected off of the UNF goalkeeper landing at the feet of Wacker who fired home the eventual game-winner, her first of the season and 10th of her career, tying her with Haw for the most game-winners in FGCU history.
The Eagles took the 1-0 advantage into halftime along with a 10-7 shot lead.
Brittany Brown (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena HS) needed to make three saves in the opening frame and would make four in the game that concluded as her third-consecutive shutout and fifth of the season.
Wacker picked up her second goal of the evening in the 61st minute when
Paulina Speckmaier (Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep/Florida) found the senior with a long pass down the middle of the field creating a one-on-one chance with the goalkeeper. Wacker let her shot fly just inside the box, past the keeper and into the high left side of the goal.
Speckmaier would pick up a second assist when she crossed a ball low from the right side of the field finding the feet of
Kaitlin Parker (Palm Harbor, Fla./Clearwater Central Catholic HS) who redirected a shot home for her first score of the season and seventh of her career. Speckmaier has now handed out two assists in back-to-back games despite not picking up a single helper over the first eight games. Her four assists have already exceeded her three from last season.
By the end of the game the Eagles would outshoot the Ospreys 19-10. The Green and Blue have now built a 14-game unbeaten streak against A-Sun opponents dating back to the 2013 season. FGCU now moves on to Philadelphia to take a brief break form A-Sun play to visit La Salle on Sunday.
LA SALLELa 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 4-3-2 this season with victories over Northeastern, Pittsburgh and James Madison. They fell, 4-1, at No. 21 West Virginia last Friday night and defeated former A-10 foe Temple, 3-2 in overtime, on Sunday. La Salle received votes in the latest NSCAA National poll and is the top team in the Mid-Atlantic Regional Poll. Kelsey Haycook leads the Explorers with six goals and 15 points.
NEXT UPThe Eagles will continue A-Sun play at USC Upstate on Oct. 3. FGCU took down the Spartans at home last season on senior day by a score of 7-0. Upstate would fail to reach the A-Sun Tournament after posting a 1-7-1 mark in A-Sun play and a 4-11-3 record overall. So far this season Upstate is 2-7 with victories over South Carolina State and VMI. Kenzie Major has accounted for all five Spartan goals this season with four coming in the 4-0 victory over South Carolina State.
From there FGCU heads to Kennesaw State on Oct. 5. The Eagles battled KSU to a scoreless tie on the road last season and the Owls finished 2014 with a 9-9-1 overall record and a 5-3-1 mark in the A-Sun. This season KSU is off to a 3-6-1 start with wins over South Alabama, Austin Peay and Samford. Maggie Gaughn has paced the offense with five goals which are second only to Tindell in the A-Sun standings while Marit Sandtroeen has added a pair.
#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.
