MACON, Ga. – With goals in the opening and closing minutes of the game, the FGCU women's soccer team earned a 2-1 win over Wake Forest Sunday afternoon in Macon, Ga. The nonconference victory pushed FGCU to a 6-5-2 record on the season, while Wake Forest falls to 4-6-2.
 
The Eagles were narrowly outshot by the ACC foe 11-10 but capitalized on shots in the early goings and late in the game to seal a victory in the final nonconference contest of the year. Junior Tabby Tindell (Ocala, Fla./Trinity Catholic High School) gave the Green and Blue a 1-0 lead in the third minute of action with an unassisted goal and helped FGCU maintain a 1-0 lead through halftime.
 
Wake Forest evened the score right after the break with a goal in the 50th minute. The teams traded possession but held at 1-1 through the final minutes of action before Tindell found the back of the net in the 86th minute to push the team to an exciting victory.
 
The Eagles produced five shots on goal with three from Tindell, while the Demon Deacons constructed nine shots on target, forcing senior goal keeper Brittany Brown (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena High School) to make eight saves for a season high.
 
"I'm proud of the way the team continued to fight to the finish today," said head coach Jim Blankenship. "It's great to finish nonconference play with a win over a strong team like Wake Forest."
 
Tindell shocked the Deacons in the opening minutes with an unassisted goal on the team's first attack. Tindell cut into the box from the left and fired a shot to the far post that found the back of the net in the third minute of action.
 
Wake Forest responded quickly and created a slew of chances in the next 20 minutes, but Brown stifled four-straight shots to maintain the lead for the Eagles.
 
Nikki Hudson (Baltimore, Md./Roland Park County School/Rutgers) produced two-consecutive shots for the Eagles in the final 10 minutes of the half but her first attempt sailed wide and the second was stopped by the Wake Forest keeper.
After 45 minutes of action, Wake Forest held a 7-5 advantage in shots but the Eagles held the 1-0 lead on the scoreboard.
 
Wake Forest began the second half with intensity and created an attack early on. In the 50th minute, the Deacons pushed the ball into the box and used a close-range shot to beat Brown to her left side and tie the score at 1-1.
 
The Eagles continued to pressure the Wake Forest backline but were called for four-consecutive offside calls near the 60-minute mark and saw a shot from Emma Blackwell (Jenks, Okla./Jenks High School) go wide in the 67th minute.
 
Wake Forest created back-to-back shots on goal with 20 minutes to play but again Brown held strong to keep the score at 1-1. The teams battled in the midfield in the remaining minutes, holding at the tie score before a Wake Forest hand ball in the box sent Tindell to the penalty mark in the 86th minute.
 
Tindell's shot went high and was batted away by the Wake Forest keeper but Tindell crashed the goal and one-timed the rebound to find the back of the net and push FGCU ahead 2-1. Wake Forest produced one final shot on goal after the kickoff but Brown made another save and Tindell's late goal served as the game winner – her third game-winning goal of the season.
 
With two more goals on the weekend, Tindell increased her career total to 43 goals and 104 points and now leads the all-time point record by over 20 points.
 
The Eagles will continue Atlantic Sun Conference play next weekend at the FGCU Soccer Complex. The team hosts USC Upstate Friday, Oct. 9 in a 7 p.m. kickoff and will welcome Kennesaw State for a 1 p.m. contest Sunday, Oct. 11 in the final pair of home games this season.
 
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 107-41-19 (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 347-112-30 (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.