FORT MYERS, Fla. – With a goal in the 34th minute of action, junior Tabby Tindell pushed the FGCU women's soccer team ahead of the University of Dayton and secured another place at the top of the record books as the all-time points leader. Tindell produced a goal and an assist to lead the Eagles to a 2-0 win over Dayton Sunday afternoon at the FGCU Soccer Complex. With the win, the Eagles move to 1-0-1 on the season, while the Flyers fall to 0-2 to open the year.
 
Tindell (Ocala, Fla/Trinity Catholic High School) finished with three points on the day after assisting on a Paulina Speckmaier (Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep) goal in the second half. The junior now tops the program record book with 85 career points in just 43 games. Shannen Wacker '15 previously held the record with 83 points in four years with the Green and Blue.
 
The Eagles maintained the advantage through 90 minutes of action and outshot the Flyers 20-7 in their second contest of the year. FGCU produced 10 shots on goal and used strikes from Tindell and Speckmaier to cruise to a 2-0 victory. Defensively, senior Brittany Brown (Rochester, N.Y./Greece-Athena High School) stopped four shots on the day for her second shutout of the season.
 
"It was a great weekend and a great result today," said head coach Jim Blankenship. "I'm happy for our team. It was hot out there but we connected passes and we battled through. Dayton is a great team. That's a team that goes to the NCAA tournament almost every year. We want these kinds of games on our schedule early on to see how we stack up and we're happy with the way we played today. We kept the ball for the most part and there were some great moments for us."
 
The Eagles opened play with quick pressure and challenged the Dayton keeper in the opening minutes. Freshman Camille Knudstrup (Lakeland, Fla./George Jenkins High School) laid a cross in to Speckmaier from the right side in the fifth minute where Speckmaier's header was on target but stopped by Dayton to keep the score at 0-0.
 
In the 19th minute, Kaitlin Parker (Palm Harbor, Fla./Clearwater Central Catholic) fed Tindell in the middle of the field but the forward was taken down by a Dayton defender just three yards from the penalty box. Ali Rogers (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast High School) put the free kick on target for the Eagles, but the Dayton keeper again stopped the Eagle attack.
 
Freshman Darien Davis (New Port Richey, Fla./River Ridge High School) created another threat for FGCU in the 29th minute when she received a pass from Meaghan Mulligan (Freehold, N.J./Colts Neck High School/Tennessee) and pushed through the defense for a 1-v-1 situation with the Dayton keeper. Davis' shot was stopped by Kaelyn Johns but FGCU held on to the game's momentum.
 
In the 34th minute, Davis took a pass from Knudstrup at the right sideline and beat the left back before feeding Tindell in the front of the goal. Tindell's shot found the back of the net to push FGCU ahead 1-0. Rookies Knudstrup and David both earned their first collegiate point on the play with the assist, while Tindell took over as FGCU's all-time leader with 84 points.
 
Dayton responded quickly to the deficit and produced three dangerous advances in the next six minutes. In the 36th, a corner kick resulted in a Dayton shot at the upper 90 but Brown's diving save to her right side maintained the lead for FGCU. Dayton fired again off the rebound but Brown again stopped the ball from reaching the goal. In the 41st minute, a Dayton free kick from the top of the box forced Brown to make her third save in five minutes as the Eagles held on to the 1-0 lead until the break.
 
Through 45 minutes of action, the Eagles held an 8-5 advantage in shots with a 4-3 lead in shots on goal.
 
Speckmaier came out firing in the second half and produced two scoring opportunities in the first 10 minutes of the half. Her second attempt was deflected by the UD keeper, whose diving save sent the ball over the cross bar.
 
In the 59th minute, Mulligan crossed the ball from the left side to Tindell in the box who fired a shot at the keeper from close range. Ally Kasun (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield High School) shot at the keeper, creating another loose ball in the six-yard box. Speckmaier found the rebound off the save and blasted a shot from the right side, finding the back of the net to push FGCU ahead 2-0. Tindell's assist added to her point total, while Speckmaier's first goal of the season stands as her 14th career goal to rank sixth all-time in the FGCU record books. Kasun moves to fifth all-time with 15 career assists.
 
Dayton's best attempt to cut the deficit came in the 68th minute when the team's left back broke through the FGCU midfield. The defender fired a low shot from 20-yards out but Brown was in position for a scoop save to maintain the shutout.
 
The Eagles continued to press the Flyer defense and saw shots from Davis, Kasun, Nikki Hudson (Baltimore, Md./Roland Park Country School/Rutgers) and freshman Shay Jackson (Parkville, Mo./Park Hill South High School) in the final 15 minutes of action but finished the contest with the 2-0 lead.
 
Overall, the Eagles outperformed the Atlantic 10 preseason favorites with 20 shots and 10 shots on goal. FGCU earned seven corner kicks to Dayton's three and was whistled for 12 fouls compared to Dayton's 13.
 
The Eagles hit the road to continue the 2015 season with four-straight games away from the FGCU Soccer Complex. The Green and Blue will take on Mississippi State and LIU Brooklyn next weekend in Tampa as part of the USF Soccer Classic before heading to the West Coast for road games at Cal State Fullerton and San Diego State.
 
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 103-36-17 overall record through the first eight-plus seasons of the program's existence, including a 54-9-9 mark in the A-Sun. Blankenship's impressive career record of 343-107-28 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.