JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The FGCU women's soccer team will continue the 2015 slate with two games away from the FGCU Soccer Complex this weekend. The Eagles are set to face Jacksonville Friday, Oct. 2 in a 7 p.m. kickoff and will wrap up nonconference play Sunday, Oct. 4 with a 3:30 p.m. kickoff against Wake Forest in a neutral contest in Macon, Ga.
The Green and Blue enter the two-game swing with a record of 5-5-1 after starting Atlantic Sun Conference play with a 2-0 win over UNF last weekend. With another shutout, the team's sixth of the season, the Eagles have outscored opponents 18-8 through 11 games with 161 total shots and 70 shots on goal. The FGCU backline has stopped 81 shot attempts this season, with senior
Brittany Brown (Rochester, N.Y./Greece-Athena High School) leading the way. Brown has stifled 29 shots on goal so far this season and has held opponents to 0.70 goals per game with a save percentage of .784.
Tabby Tindell (Ocala, Fla./Trinity Catholic High School) leads the team at 16 points on the season with five goals and six assists through nine games, while
Paulina Speckmaier (Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep) has added three goals and two assists for eight points. Overall, 10 different players have found the back of the net for FGCU, inicluding
Ali Rogers (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast High School) and
Ally Kasun (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield High School), who have each added two goals and one assist this season.
WHAT TO KNOWLive stats and live video through ESPN3 will be available for Friday night's contest against the Dolphins. Both can be accessed by visiting FGCUAthletics.com or by visiting the following links:
live stats and
live video. Live stats will be available for the neutral game against Wake Forest
here. As always, fans can also follow @FGCU_WSoccer on Twitter for live updates during the game and can find the team on Facebook and Instagram for further information.
JACKSONVILLE The Dolphins of Jacksonville enter the weekend with a record of 2-6-1 on the year and hold a 0-1 record in conference play after falling to Stetson 2-1 in overtime last weekend. JU tied Georgia Southern to open the season and earned wins over Furman and Presbyterian earlier this year.
Seventh-year head coach Brian Chopham's squad went 10-8-1 last year with a 4-3 record in conference play before falling in the first round of the A-Sun Tournament. This season, the Dolphins were selected to finish second in the conference, behind only FGCU.
As a unit, the Dolphins have been outscored 18-8 in nine games this year. Jacksonville has produced 117 shots with 50 shots on goal and has allowed its opponents to 83 shots on goal, forcing starting keeper Sara Wicks to make 53 saves so far. The Dolphins return 2014 leading scorer Sope Akindoju but have not seen production from the sophomore yet this season. Senior Marie Weckhurst has led the group with four goals and an assist in nine games so far this year, while just four others have added single goals.
The Eagles are 3-3-4 all-time against the Dolphins since their first meeting in 2007. The teams have faced off twice in the postseason, splitting a pair of A-Sun Tournament games in 2012 and 2013. Last year, the Eagles defeated JU 2-0 with goals from Tindell and Speckmaier.
WAKE FORESTOn Sunday the Eagles will face off on the campus of former A-Sun foe Mercer University against the ACC's Wake Forest. Last season, the Demon Deacons missed the NCAA tournament for the first time during Tony da Luz's 18-year tenure as head coach after compiling a record of 5-9-3 with a 3-5-2 mark in ACC play. The team currently holds a record of 4-5-2 with a 1-2 conference record. The Deacons have yet to secure their first victory on the road, but defeated Oregon 1-0 in double overtime on neutral ground in September.
The Deacons have played an impressive schedule, including victories over Ohio State and a tight 1-0 loss versus No. 1 North Carolina and are set to take on the No. 7 Clemson on the road Friday evening.
Overall, Wake Forest has outscored opponents 14-10 this season with 152 shots and 62 shots on target. Wake Forest lost its top two scorers from last season to graduation and boats leading scorer Sarah Medina this year. The sophomore from Miami has notched four goals in the Deacons' 11 games to lead the team. Her 10 points and nine shots on target also top the Wake Forest squad.
Sunday stands as the first-ever meeting between the Eagles and Deacons.
THE STREAKThe Eagles maintain a 21-game unbeaten streak in regular-season A-Sun games that spans three seasons. The team's last loss in conference play was Oct. 5, 2012 at North Florida, 1,092 days ago.
REWRITING THE RECORD BOOKTindell is on the launching pad to become FGCU's most prolific women's soccer player of all time. The junior currently holds the all-time record in goals (40), game-winning goals (17) and shots on goal (102) and set the new program record in career points with a goal and an assist in the season's opening weekend. Tindell passed previous leader Wacker's 83 points and currently stands at 98 points in just 50 games. With one more goal, Tindell will hit the 100-point mark. Tindell also entered the A-Sun Top-10 for career goals earlier this season and continues to climb the ranks.
Brown nears the top of the record books in career saves (246, 2nd) took over as the program's and A-Sun's all-time leader in shutouts earlier this season. The veteran keeper also leads the program's goals against average at 0.70 and games played at 71.
FGCU PROGRAM RECORDS | | SHUTOUTS | | | | GOALS AGAINST AVERAGE | |
| 1 | Brittany Brown (12-15) | 33 | | 1 | Brittany Brown (12-15) | 0.70 |
| 2 | Stephanie Powers (08-11) | 31 | | 2 | Stephanie Powers (08-11) | 0.73 |
| 3 | Kirsi Keenan (07-08) | 8 | | 3 | Emily Barrett (07-09) | 0.84 |
| 4 | Emily Barrett (07-09) | 3 | | 4 | Kirsi Keenan (07-08) | 0.90 |
ATLANTIC SUN RECORDS| | GOALS | | | | | SHUTOUTS | | |
| 1 | Shelley Marusak | Cent 93-95 | 61 | | 1 | Brittany Brown | FGCU 12-15 | 33 |
| 2 | Mirela Ninic | Mercer 96-99 | 60 | | 2 | Stephanie Powers | FGCU 08-11 | 31 |
| 3 | Jenn Stephenson | Campbell 94-97 | 60 | | 3 | April Eilering | Stetson 03-06 | 25 |
| 4 | Kara Fitzgerald | GSU 94-97 | 57 | | 4 | Staci Pugh | KSU 06-10 | 25 |
| 5 | Stine Kloster | JU 97-00 | 53 | | | Erin Switalski | Campbell 01-04 | 25 |
| 6 | Keri Zwikker | JU 05-08 | 49 | | | Molly Keating | FAU 00-03 | 23 |
| 7 | Leeanna Woodworth | GWU 02-05 | 49 | | 7 | Martha Chaney | Cent 93-95 | 23 |
| 8 | Chandra Yorgason | GSU 97-00 | 47 | | | Alyssa Obrien | UCF 95-98 | 22 |
| 9 | Tabby Tindell | FGCU 13-15 | 40 | | 9 | Adriana Finelli | JSU 98-00 | 20 |
| 10 | Marit Foss | JU 97-00 | 39 | | 10 | Alexa Rooney | JU 08-10 | 20 |
| | | | | | | Julie Snaman | UCF 03-04 | 20 |
MORE ON TABBYTindell currently ranks second among active Division I players in career points per game at 1.96, trailing only Florida's Savannah Jordan, and ranks third in career goals per game at 0.80. The junior also ranks seventh in the nation with 0.67 assists per game and tops the A-Sun in the same category as well as goals per game, points per game, total assists and total points.
COACH BLANKENSHIPFor the second-straight year, FGCU women's soccer head coach
Jim Blankenship earned a position among the nation's top-10 collegiate coaches prior to the season's start. The three-time Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year holds the No. 6 position in the list compiled by AllWhiteKit.com for 2015. By creating sustained success at FGCU, Blankenship achieved a score of 69.61 in 2014 for a No. 10 ranking and improved to 74.05 this season to take the No. 6 spot. With the increase, Blankenship moved ahead of UNC's Anson Dorrance, Boston University's Nancy Feldman, Marquette's Markus Roeders, Penn State's Erica Walsh, Portland's Garrett Smith and Florida's Becky Burleigh.
In his ninth season with the Green and Blue, Blankenship has built FGCU into a yearly contender in the A-Sun and nationally. Blankenship-led squads have won each of the last five regular season championships and have captured the A-Sun Conference Championship in three of the last five seasons. With Blankenship at the helm, the Eagles have compiled a record of 106-41-18 through nine seasons with a 54-9-11 A-Sun mark. FGCU's only women's soccer coach in program history owns a career record of 346-112-29.
UP NEXTThe Eagles will return to the FGCU Soccer Complex next weekend for the final home series of the regular season. FGCU will host USC Upstate Friday, Oct. 9 in a 7 p.m. start and will welcome Kennesaw State in a 1 p.m. kickoff Sunday, Oct. 11. The Friday evening contest will serve as Senior Night, as the Eagles honor the graduating class prior to the game.
COACH JIM BLANKENSHIPA 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, who was recently ranked the no. 6 collegiate coach nationally by AllWhiteKit.com, 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. The Eagles then won the 2014 A-Sun tournament and hosted the first NCAA Championship event on campus when it welcomed Auburn in front of a record crowd. Blankenship has guided FGCU to a 106-41-18 (65.1 W%) overall record through the first eight-plus seasons of the program's existence, including a 54-9-11 (75.0 W%) mark in the A-Sun. Blankenship's impressive career record of 346-112-29 (70.9 W%) over 25 seasons has come while leading FGCU, the University of Miami, Lynn University and St. Thomas University. 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 $7 for adults and $5 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. #FEEDFGCUFGCU 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.
