JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Despite a season-high in offensive opportunities, the FGCU women's soccer team battled to a 1-1 double-overtime draw with Jacksonville University Friday, Oct. 2 at JU's Southern Oak Stadium. With the tie, the Eagles move to 5-5-2 on the season with a 1-0-1 record in Atlantic Sun action and extend an unbeaten streak against conference foes in the regular season to 22 games, while the Dolphins move to 2-6-2 with a 0-1-1 record in league play.
 
JU struck first to take a 1-0 lead with a 13th-minute attack. A Dolphin cross from the left side found its way over the FGCU backline and to a forward at the back post where the Dolphins buried the shot to the right corner. Junior Tabby Tindell (Ocala, Fla./Trinity Catholic High School) found the back of the net for the Eagles in the 33rd minute with an unassisted goal to knot the game at a goal apiece, where it would stand for the remainder of the game. Tindell beat the defense on the left side and pushed toward the goal where she buried the shot to hit the 100-point mark in her three-year career. Tindell now holds a 17-point lead as the top position in the FGCU record books and leads all former players with 41 career goals.
 
"We have to credit Jacksonville's defense tonight," said head coach Jim Blankenship. "They did everything they could to limit our chances and their keeper was phenomenal. I'm proud of the way the team battled back after going down early and the way they continued to fight and create chances in a physical game. It's a tough result but we're happy to get a point on the road."
 
Overall, the Eagles produced a season-high 30 attempts with 15 shots on goal in the 110-minute affair and held the home team to eight total shots with three on goal. Senior keeper Brittany Brown (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena High School) was forced to make just two saves on the night, with only one in regulation, while the backline hindered eight JU shots in total. Tindell led the offensive effort with nine shots, including seven on goal, while Paulina Speckmaier (Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep) contributed eight attempts.  Senior Ally Kasun (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield High School) added three shots, all on target and late in the game, for the visiting team. The Green and Blue saw nine different players with at least one shot attempt.
 
Jacksonville goal keeper Sara Wicks was stellar in net for the Dolphins, stopping 13 Eagle attempts on the night, including a first-half penalty kick and maintaining the 1-1 score despite strong pressure from the Green and Blue.
 
The Green and Blue offensive surge began right away as Speckmaier fired a shot wide in the sixth minute of play before the Eagles were called offside on two-consecutive runs. On its first chance of the night, the home team delivered a ball into the box that beat the FGCU backline and resulted in the 13th-minute goal.
 
With a 1-0 deficit, the Eagles responded quickly to regain control and created four chances in the text eight minutes. Nikki Hudson (Baltimore, Md./Roland Park County School/Rutgers) put a shot wide in the minute after the Jacksonville goal before Speckmaier and Tindell took three-consecutive shots that were stopped by the JU keeper or blocked by the backline.
 
Tindell created another run in the 22nd minute and was taken down in the box by the JU defense. Tindell lined up for a penalty kick but JU's Wicks dove right at the moment of Tindell's strike and stopped the shot in the upper left corner to maintain the lead for JU.
 
Jacksonville carried the momentum of the saved PK and created an attack in the 31st minute that challenged Brown. A shot from the right side forced the senior off her line but the veteran made the stop to hold the score.
 
Just two minutes later, Tindell broke through the midfield and took on the JU backline. The junior beat a defender on the left and tucked the ball away at the far post to even the match at 1-1.
 
The Eagles continued to create chances and saw shots from Emma Blackwell (Jenks, Okla./Jenks High School) and Tindell in the final minutes of the half to move the shot total to 11-4 in favor of the Eagles, but the teams entered the break tied.
 
FGCU continued the pressure in its offensive third in the second half and outshot JU 13-1 in the second 45-minute span. The team saw strong chances from Ali Rogers (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast High School) and Speckmaier in the 54th minute and enabled Tindell to create another three chances over a span of seven minutes but the JU defense held strong to maintain the 1-1 tie.
 
Seven different FGCU players combined for eight shots in the final 15 minutes of regulation to continue to the barrage of shots but the Eagles were unable to avoid overtime.
 
The Dolphins created a chance early in the first overtime period and challenged Brown to a second save in the 108th minute for their best chance of the night.  Kasun and Speckmaier produced a pair of shots each in overtime but neither team could break the tie before the final whistle.
 
The 1-1 tie stands as the fifth draw in the all-time series between the Dolphins and the Eagles, dating back to 2007. The teams have tied in each of the last three meetings in Jacksonville.  
 
The Eagles will conclude nonconference action Sunday, Oct. 4 with a neutral site contest against the ACC's Wake Forest in Macon, Ga. Kickoff at the home of former A-Sun foe Mercer is slated for 3:30 p.m. The Demon Deacons moved to 4-6-2 with a 2-0 loss to No. 6 Clemson Friday night.
 
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 106-41-19 (65.1 W%) overall record through the first eight-plus seasons of the program's existence, including a 55-9-10 (75.0 W%) mark in the A-Sun. Blankenship's impressive career record of 346-112-30 (70.9 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.
 
TICKETS
Single-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.
 
#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.