NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A 97th-minute strike from reigning Atlantic Sun Player of the Year Tabby Tindell led the FGCU women's soccer team to a 2-1 overtime victory over Lipscomb University Friday night at the Lipscomb Soccer Complex. With the win, the Eagles remain unbeaten with a 4-0-1 conference record and take over sole possession of first place in the league. The team holds a 9-5-2 overall record, while Lipscomb falls to 9-3-4 with a 4-1 A-Sun mark.
 
With the victory, the Green and Blue also officially clinch a position in the 2015 A-Sun Conference Championship and stand in position to host as the high seed.
 
"I'm really pleased with this result," said head coach Jim Blankenship. "The ladies showed great resolve with such a tough opponent on the road. The team knew there was a strong task at hand and handled the pressure extremely well. I'm proud of all of our players and look forward to the rest of the season."
 
The Eagles took a 1-0 lead into halftime after a 43rd minute goal by Yazmin Velez (Venice, Fla./Venice High School) and outshot the home team 13-3 through the first 80 minutes. Lipscomb created a strong attack in the 80th minute and found the back of the net to even the score with 10 minutes left. The teams entered the overtime period with a 1-1 tie but Tindell (Ocala, Fla./Trinity Catholic High School) pushed the Eagles to victory with a goal in the 97th minute on a strike that was assisted by Paulina Speckmaier (Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep).
 
Overall, the Eagles outshot the home team 16-4 with nine shots on goal. Senior Brittany Brown (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena High School) made two saves on the night as the team remained undefeated against Lipscomb with a 7-0-2 all-time record against the Bisons.
 
The home team took control on the kickoff and fired the first shot of the match in the seventh minute but the attempt went high. The teams battled in the midfield before Tindell's first shot was blocked by the defense in the 27th minute. Just a minute later, Ally Kasun (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield High School) took a shot that went high but continued to pressure the backline with a shot on target two minutes later. Kasun's second shot was saved by the Lipscomb keeper and gave way for a counterattack by the Bisons.
 
Lipscomb drove through the midfield and fired a shot at Brown in the 32nd minute but the senior keeper made the save without issue. Brown was challenged again in the 40th minute but stifled Lipscomb's last chance of the half.
 
Ali Rogers (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast High School) held control of the ball at the top of the box late in the first half and dished the ball to her left where a charging Velez rocked a one-touch shot with her left foot from 20-yards out. Velez's beauty of a shot beat the Lipscomb keeper in the upper left corner of the net to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead as the contest approached the break.
 
The second half saw a 10-1 shot advantage in favor of the Eagles but the Lipscomb defense held strong. Nikki Hudson (Baltimore, Md./Roland Park County School/Rutgers) fired a shot high in the 55th minute and followed with an attempt that hit the post in the 65th. Hudson gathered the rebound off her shot and fired again at the net but her third attempt of the half was saved by the reigning A-Sun Goal Keeper of the Year. Three minutes later Hudson sailed a shot high as the Eagles continued to pressure the home team.
 
The Bisons made a handful of substitutions with a 1-0 deficit and 20 minutes remaining in regulation, but the Eagles continued to hold control of the contest. Tindell created back-to-back shots on target near the 70-minute mark, with Speckmaier and Hudson adding two more strong attempts in the next five minutes.
 
Lipscomb again made a handful of substitutions, reentering some of its stronger offensive producers in the 76th minute and immediately created a threat to the Eagles. Lipscomb moved the ball to the left side where a cross found a forward in the six-yard box. The forward put a low shot toward the far post where it was just out of reach of a diving Brown. The goal evened the match at 1-1 with 10 minutes to play.
 
Kasun added one final shot on goal in the waning minutes of regulation but the Eagles could not stave off overtime.
 
A long-range Speckmaier shot in the 92nd minute opened the overtime period before Hudson gained control of the ball at the top of the box. Hudson was taken down with a clean tackle but Speckmaier claimed control of the ball and sent a pass through the defense to Tindell on the right side near the end line. Tindell cut left and sent a low shot to the far post, beating the Lipscomb keeper and pushing the Green and Blue to victory.
 
Tindell's 12th strike of the season served as the game winner with sudden victory rules in place. The goal was her fifth game-winning goal of the season and the 20th in her three-year career. The junior improves her FGCU program records to 47 goals and 113 points and now tops the all-time leaderboard by 19 goals and 30 points.
 
As a unit, the Eagles are now unbeaten in 25-straight Atlantic Sun Conference regular season games, while Blankenship earned his 350th career victory.
 
The Eagles will continue the Atlantic Sun slate Sunday, Oct. 18 with a 1 p.m. contest against the league's newest member – NJIT – in Newark, N.J. The team will wrap up regular season play Saturday, Oct. 24 with a 7 p.m. matchup with Stetson in DeLand before the A-Sun Tournament begins the following weekend.
 
COACH JIM BLANKENSHIP
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, 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 110-41-19 (64.2 W%) overall record through the first nine seasons of the program's existence, including a 58-9-10 (74.6 W%) mark in the A-Sun. Blankenship's impressive career record of 350-112-30 (71.0 W%) over 25 seasons has come while leading FGCU, the University of Miami, Lynn University and St. Thomas University.
 
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.