FORT MYERS, Fla. – Two first-half goals were enough for victory for the FGCU women's soccer team as the Eagles maintained a 2-0 advantage over UNF Friday, Sept. 26 at the FGCU Soccer Complex. With the win, the Eagles begin the conference slate at 1-0 and move to 5-5-1 overall, while the Ospreys fall to 2-8 on the year and 0-1 in A-Sun play.
 
The Green and Blue produced a strong offensive presence against the Ospreys with 21 shots including nine attempts on goal. The Eagles held UNF to just two shots with both coming in the first half and maintained control throughout the 90-minute contest.
 
"I'm pleased with the result tonight," said head coach Jim Blankenship. "Getting three points is the goal every night. I thought we moved the ball well and created great chances. Our backs were also fantastic tonight with another clean sheet. We had two early goals but we needed to continue to put the pressure on them and I thought we did a great job with that."
 
Ali Rogers (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast High School) and Tabby Tindell (Ocala, Fla./Trinity Catholic High School) found the back of the net for the Eagles in the first half but the two early goals were all the Eagles needed to earn the win. Rogers pushed FGCU ahead in the seventh minute of action with assists from Tindell and Paulina Speckmaier (Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep) before Tindell sealed the two-goal advantage in the 28th minute with assists from Camille Knudstrup (Lakeland, Fla./George Jenkins High School) and Nikki Hudson (Baltimore, Md./Roland Park County School/Rutgers).
 
The FGCU backline held the Ospreys to just two shots on the night with one attempt on target. Senior goal keeper Brittany Brown (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena High School) helped the backline clear all threats and made one save at the goal line.
 
Overall, the Eagles saw 10 different players contribute shot attempts with a team-high six from Speckmaier and three by Tindell.
 
The Eagles opened the contest with five shots from four players in the first 10 minutes. The home team was awarded a corner kick in the third minute where Knudstrup's header went high before Kaitlin Parker (Palm Harbor, Fla./Clearwater Central Catholic High School) challenged the UNF keeper with a shot on goal from the left side.
 
In the seventh minute, Speckmaier ran through the midfield on the left side and dished the ball to Tindell in the box. Tindell completed a short pass to Rogers on the right side where Rogers fired a low shot that found the net at the far post.
 
Rogers' blast pushed the Eagles ahead early on, but the Green and Blue continued to challenge.
 
The Eagles saw shots from Yazmin Velez (Venice, Fla./Venice High School), Speckmaier and Tindell in the next seven minutes before UNF earned its first offensive opportunity at the 19-minute mark. The Ospreys' shot attempt went wide and gave way for the Eagles to produce another wave of offensive attacks.
 
After back-to-back shots on goal from Ally Kasun (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield High School) and Meaghan Mulligan (Freehold, N.J./Colts Neck High School/Tennessee), Hudson received the ball from Knudstrup and created an impressive run through the UNF midfield. Hudson pushed the ball into the box where Tindell beat another defender and fired a shot from the right side. Tindell's shot beat the UNF keeper and moved FGCU ahead 2-0.
 
The Eagles maintained the attack through the end of the half but were challenged by UNF once more before the whistle. FGCU was called offside in the 44th minute and saw as UNF created a counter attack on the free kick. The Ospreys pushed into their offensive third and fired a shot at Brown from 20-yards out but the veteran keeper stopped the attempt easily to hold the 2-0 lead for FGCU.
 
The offensive surge continued early in the second half as Parker, Hudson and Speckmaier all created attempts that went wide in the first seven minutes.  The surge was followed by a Rogers run down the left side. Rogers cut into the middle of the field and paused to beat a defender at the top of the box before firing a shot at that pulled the UNF keeper off the line in the 59th minute.
 
Ten minutes later, Speckmaier challenged the keeper again with a shot from 20-yards out. The Eagles maintained complete control in the second half with 11 total shots from seven different players. Mulligan forced the UNF keeper to another save in the 74th minute but the Ospreys held the Eagles scoreless in the remaining time.
 
The team will travel to Jacksonville to face the JU Dolphins on Friday, Oct. 2 in an A-Sun tilt before taking on Wake Forest in a neutral match Sunday, Oct. 4 in Macon, Ga. The 3:30 p.m. kickoff the Wake Forest will stand as the team's final nonconference contest before picking up with the rest of the A-Sun schedule.
 
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 106-41-18 (65.1 W%) overall record through the first eight-plus seasons of the program's existence, including a 55-9-9 (75.0 W%) mark in the A-Sun. Blankenship's impressive career record of 346-112-29 (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.