GAINESVILLE – After earning the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament win last weekend, the FGCU women's soccer team will continue action in the 2015 NCAA Second Round Friday afternoon against Duke. The Eagles and Blue Devils will kickoff at 3 p.m. at Florida's Donald R. Dizney Stadium.
The Green and Blue extends the season in its fourth NCAA Tournament appearance in just five years with Friday afternoon's in the Second Round matchup hosted by Florida. The Eagles earned the Atlantic Sun's automatic bid to
The Dance by defeating second-seeded Lipscomb 5-0 in the A-Sun Championship Final and defeated No. 22 USF 2-1 Saturday afternoon in Tampa. The team finished the regular season at 11-5-2 and took a 5-0 win over fifth-seeded Stetson in the semifinals before defeating Lipscomb 5-0 in the A-Sun Final. With the success at the conference level, the Eagles earned their sixth-consecutive A-Sun regular season title and are now 14-5-2 on the season.
As a unit, the Eagles have outscored opponents 53-13 through 21 games this season and held a 23-3 advantage over A-Sun foes in the regular season. The team has taken 380 shots with 190 on target overall and have averaged 18.1 shots per game, while limiting opponents to just 7.0 shots per game overall. The FGCU backline has stopped 147 shot attempts this season, with
Brittany Brown (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena High School) and Atlantic Sun Defensive Player of the Year
Emma Blackwell (Jenks, Okla./Jenks High School) leading the way. Brown has stifled 54 shots on goal so far this season and has held opponents to 0.57 goals per game with a save percentage of .818.
2015 Atlantic Sun Player of the Year
Tabby Tindell (Ocala, Fla./Trinity Catholic High School) leads the team and the league at 44 points on the season with 17 goals and 10 assists through 19 games, while
Paulina Speckmaier (Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep) ranks second on the team with six goals and seven assists and
Nikki Hudson (Baltimore, Md./Roland Park County School/Rutgers) and
Ally Kasun (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield High School) have added five goals each from the midfield. Overall, 15 different players have found the back of the net for FGCU, including captain
Shea Rhoney (Lithia, Fla./Newsome High School) who has added four goals and five assists during her senior campaign and rounds out the team's double-figure point producers.
The Eagles have used the same lineup in each of the 11 games since battling No. 4 West Virginia and have compiled a 10-1-1 record with that crew, including the road loss against the Mountaineers, the undefeated mark in conference play and Saturday's win.
With the recent success, the Eagles moved ahead in the official NCAA RPI and now stand at 74 among the nation's 333 teams. The RPI has not been updated since the win over USF but the Eagles did crack into the TopDrawerSoccer Top-25 at No. 24 after the NCAA victory.
WHAT TO KNOWSaturday's contest can be viewed live and free of charge on ESPN3 and can be found directly by clicking
here. Live stats will be available through the NCAA Portal or by clicking
here. As always, fans can also follow @FGCU_WSoccer on Twitter for updates as they become available during the game and can find the team on Facebook and Instagram for further information.
TICKETSTickets for Friday's Second Round Matchup are available through the Florida University Athletic Association Box Office at a rate of $7 for adults, $3 for children 12 & under, students or senior citizens. Fans can contact UAA Ticket Office at 1-800-344-2867 with questions or to purchase.
DUKENo. 18 Duke travels to Gainesville to take on FGCU in the Second Round after defeating James Madison 5-0 in Friday's first-round contest. The Blue Devils used five different goal scorers and shutout JMU for their 12th clean sheet of the season.
Duke holds an official RPI of 13 entering the weekend and ranks No. 18 in the TopDrawerSoccer poll as of this week. The Blue Devils checked in as high as No. 15 in the SoccerAmerica poll this season and have consistently held a top-25 position.
Including last Friday's win, the Blue Devils hold a record of 11-5-4 on the year and posted a 4-3-3 mark in ACC play. The team faced notable opponents in No. 18 Southern California, No. 4 Florida State, No. 1 Virginia and No. 5 North Carolina this season and finished the year with a 2-3-1 record against nationally-ranked squads. The team's strongest results came as a 1-0 win over UNC and a 0-0 tie against Florida State.
Individually, the team is led by a strong core of underclassmen. The Blue Devils boast a core-four of goal scorers, all with two or fewer years of collegiate experience. Taylor Racioppi has scored six goals and added five assists during her freshman campaign for a team-high 17 points, while classmate Kayla McCoy paces the team with seven goals and one assist. In goal, sophomore EJ Proctor has maintained a goals against average of 0.66 this season with 12 shutouts and a save percentage of .829.
As a unit, the Blue Devils produced an average of 19.0 shots per game, while holding opponents to 9.5 attempts. The team has scored 1.95 goals per contest and have outshot opponents 380-190 with a 39-13 goal advantage through 20 games this season.
Head coach Robbie Church is in his 15th season at Duke. He and Blankenship previously worked together on the men's staff at Lynn between 1990 and 1991 and continue to be good friends 25 years later.
AGAINST THE BLUE DEVILSFriday marks the first-official meeting between FGCU and Duke as the teams have never met in season. However, on Mar. 29, 2009, the Eagles welcomed the Blue Devils to the FGCU Soccer Complex for a community event due in part to Blankenship's relationship with Church. The teams hosted a joint clinic before seeing nearly 2,000 fans file in for a spring exhibition between the two teams. Duke won 2-1.
EXPERIENCEWith their 83rd career games, seniors Blackwell, Kasun, Rhoney, Brown and
Kaitlin Parker (Palm Harbor, Fla./Clearwater Central Catholic High School) move up in the A-Sun record books tied at seventh in games played, passing current assistant coach and former standout
Melissa Arnold and matching alum
Shannen Wacker. Saturday's contest will push the group to sixth in conference history with 84 career games.
THIRD TIME'S A CHARMThe senior class of Blackwell, Brown, Kasun, Rhoney and Parker are appearing in their third NCAA Tournament in four seasons. With the senior leadership, the Eagles earned their first-ever NCAA Tournament win Saturday over USF and continue to the Second Round.
POSTSEASON ACCOLADESThe Eagles saw nine individuals honored in the Atlantic Sun All-Conference Team announcement, highlighted by Tindell's nod as Player of the Year. Blackwell became the first A-Sun Player to win back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year awards, while Blankenship was named Coach of the Year for the fourth time.
In addition to the major awards, Tindell and Blackwell joined Kasun and Hudson on the First Team All-Conference, while Rhoney and Speckmaier were named to the Second Team All-Conference and freshmen
Camille Knudstrup (Lakeland, Fla./George Jenkins High School) and
Darien Davis (New Port Richey, Fla./River Ridge High School) earned All-Freshmen Team accolades.
Following the A-Sun Tournament, Blackwell, Brown and Speckmaier earned All-Tournament Team recognition, while Tindell was named MVP for the second-straight year.
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 (52), game-winning goals (22) and shots on goal (139) 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 126 points in just 59 games. Tindell also entered the A-Sun Top-10 for career goals earlier this season and continues to climb the ranks in both goals and points, where she ranks eighth.
Brown takes over the record books with the top career mark in saves (271) and holds the program's and A-Sun's shutout record at 38. The veteran keeper also leads the program's goals against average at 0.67 and games played at 83.
FGCU PROGRAM RECORDS | | SHUTOUTS | | | | GOALS AGAINST AVERAGE | |
| 1 | Brittany Brown (12-15) | 38 | | 1 | Brittany Brown (12-15) | 0.67 |
| 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 | 38 |
| 2 | Mirela Ninic | Mercer 96-99 | 60 | | 2 | Stephanie Powers | FGCU 08-11 | 31 |
| 3 | Jenn Stephenson | Campbell 94-97 | 60 | | 3 | Anna Buhigas | Lipscomb 13-15 | 29 |
| 4 | Kara Fitzgerald | GSU 94-97 | 57 | | 4 | April Eilering | Stetson 03-06 | 25 |
| 5 | Stine Kloster | JU 97-00 | 53 | | | Staci Pugh | KSU 06-10 | 25 |
| 6 | Tabby Tindell | FGCU 13-15 | 52 | | | Erin Switalski | Campbell 01-04 | 25 |
| 7 | Keri Zwikker | JU 05-08 | 49 | | 7 | Molly Keating | FAU 00-03 | 23 |
| | Leeanna Woodworth | GWU 02-05 | 49 | | | Martha Chaney | Cent 93-95 | 23 |
| 9 | Chandra Yorgason | GSU 97-00 | 47 | | 9 | Alyssa Obrien | UCF 95-98 | 22 |
| 10 | Marit Foss | JU 97-00 | 39 | | 10 | Adriana Finelli | JSU 98-00 | 20 |
| | | | | | | Alexa Rooney | JU 08-10 | 20 |
| | | | | | | Julie Snaman | UCF 03-04 | 20 |
MORE ON TABBYWith eight goals in the last nine games, Tindell moved ahead of Florida's Savannah Jordan among active Division I players in career points per game at 2.14 and now leads all active players. The junior trails only Jordan goals per game at 0.88 through her three year career. This season, Tindell ranks among the top players nationally in points per game (2nd, 2.32), goals per game (6th, 0.89), shots on goal per game (3rd, 2.95) and game winning goals (4th, 7).
UP NEXTWith a win Friday afternoon, the Eagles would advance to the Third Round for the first time in program history and would join FGCU's 2013 'Dunk City' Men's Basketball team as the only teams to advance past the second round. Should the Eagles win, the Green and Blue would face the winner of Friday's Florida vs. William and Mary contest Sunday, Nov. 22 in Gainesville.
COACH JIM BLANKENSHIPA veteran of over two decades in collegiate coaching, head coach Jim Blankenship, who was named the A-Sun Coach of the Year in 2012, 2013, 2014 and now 2015, 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 nine seasons. Blankenship, who was ranked the no. 6 collegiate coach nationally by AllWhiteKit.com to begin the year, started the program in 2007 and has since guided the Eagles to nine double-digit win seasons, culminating with Atlantic Sun Regular Season Championships in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and now 2015. 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 went on to win the 2014 A-Sun tournament and host the first NCAA Championship event on campus. The Eagles earned their fourth NCAA Tournament appearance with the 2015 A-Sun Tournament Championship and won their first NCAA game at USF in 2015. Blankenship has guided FGCU to a 115-41-19 (65.3 W%) overall record through the first nine seasons of the program's existence, including a 60-9-10 (76.2 W%) mark in the A-Sun. Blankenship's impressive career record of 355-112-30 (71.3 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. #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.
