FORT MYERS, Fla.  – With a convincing five-goal victory, the FGCU women's soccer team defeated Lipscomb University Sunday afternoon at the FGCU Soccer Complex for its fourth Atlantic Sun Conference Championship. With the win, the Eagles earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in five seasons of eligibility.
 
The Eagles recorded their 11th shutout of the season and used five different goal scorers to defeat the No. 2 seed Lady Bisons and improve to 13-5-2 on the year.  Lipscomb concludes the year with a mark of 12-4-4 for its best season in program history.
 
Play held in the midfield in the early goings of the game, but once they broke through, the Eagles maintained control of the game until the final whistle. 2015 Atlantic Sun Player of the Year Tabby Tindell (Ocala, Fla./Trinity Catholic High School) struck first with a 33rd minute header before Nikki Hudson (Baltimore, Md./Roland Park County School/Rutgers) pushed the Green and Blue to a 2-0 lead right before halftime.
 
The top-seeded Eagles held control of the contest in the second half and forged ahead with goals from Paulina Speckmaier (Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep), Ally Kasun (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield High School) and Sarah Lowicki (Burlington, Ontario/Notre Dame Catholic).
 
Overall, the Eagles outshot the Lady Bisons 23-6 with 11 shots on goal from eight different players. Senior goal keeper Brittany Brown (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena High School) made two saves in 90 minutes of action and recorded her A-Sun record 38th career shutout with help from a stellar backline highlighted by Atlantic Sun Defensive Player of the Year Emma Blackwell (Jenks, Okla./Jenks High School).
 
"Words can't express how proud I am of this team," said head coach Jim Blankenship. "They've worked together as a team and as a family this year and their hard work has paid off. It's so great to see so many players contributing and stepping up when we need them to. We knew Lipscomb would present a challenge for us, but the team rose to the occasion and I am so pleased with this result."
 
The Lady Bisons produced the first shot of the game with a rocket from 20-yards out that sailed high in the third minute of play. From there, the teams battled in the midfield for possession.
 
The Eagles' best chances early on came from Blackwell as the centerback created two opportunities for the Eagles near the 16-minute mark. Blackwell took the ball the length of the field on back-to-back possessions. Her pass to Tindell was broken up in the box on the first attempt and her low shot to the corner of the net was stopped by Lipscomb keeper Anna Buhigas the next time down the field. Blackwell added another shot on goal in the 32nd minute with a rocket from outside the box but the 2015 Goal Keeper of the Year, Buhigas, made the necessary stop.
 
The Eagles broke through the Lipscomb defense in the 33rd minute of play as Ali Rogers (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast High School) dribbled down the right sideline and fed a ball into the six-yard box. Tindell read the cross at the back post and placed a header at the far post, beating Buhigas and giving FGCU the lead.
 
Just 10 minutes later, Hudson pushed FGCU ahead 2-0 with a close-range attack. Freshman Darien Davis (New Port Richey, Fla./River Ridge High School) received the ball in the right corner after a throw in and sent a cross in front of the net. Hudson battled her way through the defense and laid out in front of the net to push the ball across the goal line.
 
The Eagles went into the break with a 2-0 lead and an 11-3 shot advantage and wasted no time before adding to their goal total in the second half.  In the 50th minute, Tindell fed Speckmaier at the corner of the penalty box where the forward sprinted toward the net and one-timed a shot passed a diving Buhigas. Speckmaier's blast gave the Eagles a 3-0 lead with 40 minutes to play.
 
FGCU continued to pressure Lipscomb and added another three shots in the next 10 minutes before Kasun extended the lead to 4-0. Shea Rhoney (Lithia, Fla./Newsome High School) received a ball on the far side after a corner kick and fed the ball into the chaos in front of the net. Kasun controlled the ball and knocked a hard-hit shot toward Buhigas from close range. Buhigas got her hands on the ball but could not stop its path as Kasun's shot found the back of the net.
 
After a series of substitutions in the 74th minute, Lowicki made her mark on the A-Sun Championship with an 81st minute goal. Speckmaier sent a corner across to the left side, where Rhoney again controlled the ball. Rhoney sent a clear cross in front of the net where Lowicki was open and fired a shot for her first career goal. Lowicki's blast gave the Eagles the ultimate 5-0 lead to match their 5-0 victory in the A-Sun semifinals.
 
The team finished the weekend with 10 goals from nine different players and saw an additional three add points on assists.
 
With two goals and two assists, Tindell earned Tournament MVP honors for the second-consecutive year, while Speckmaier, Blackwell and Brown joined Tindell on the All-Tournament Team.
 
Tindell's goal Sunday served as the game winner for her sixth game-winning goal of the year and 22nd of her career. The junior has scored 17 goals this season with 52 through her three-year career and now leads the FGCU records in both categories, stands sixth in the A-Sun in career goals and holds the eighth position in the A-Sun records with 126 career points.
 
With their 82nd career games, seniors Blackwell, Kasun, Rhoney, Brown and Kaitlin Parker (Palm Harbor, Fla./Clearwater Central Catholic High School) enter the A-Sun record books tied at 11th in games played, joining current assistant coach and former standout Melissa Arnold. With one more game played, the group will join alum Shannen Wacker in a tie for seventh.
 
Sunday's win serves as FGCU's fourth A-Sun Championship in five years of postseason eligibility and gives the team the A-Sun's automatic berth to the 2015 NCAA Tournament. The team will learn its NCAA Tournament opponent and location during the NCAA's Selection Show Monday, Nov. 9 at 4:30 p.m. The show will be broadcast live on NCAA.com with all the details available at FGCUAthletics.com Monday evening.
 
COACH JIM BLANKENSHIP
A 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. Blankenship has guided FGCU to a 114-41-19 (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 354-112-30 (71.3 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.