The Student News Site of Florida Gulf Coast University

Eagle Media

Eagle Media

Eagle Media

Eagles move to 12-3 with two victories

The Florida Gulf Coast University women’s soccer team is currently undefeated, 5-0, in the A-Sun conference, and the Eagles’ overall record stands at 12-3. On Saturday, Oct. 18, the Eagles will face off against Jacksonville University at home in a rematch of the 2013 A-Sun championship.
Coach Jim Blakenship said that it was a goal for the team to get off to a strong start. However, none of the 241 fans in attendance expected the start to be as quick as it was.
Tabby Tindell scored the first goal for the Eagles eight seconds into the match, making it the fifth fastest goal in NCAA Women’s Soccer history. Shannen Wacker scored shortly thereafter in what eventually became a 2-1 victory over Lipscomb.
“We had a tremendous start today,” Blakenship said. “We got two [goals] early and it’s good to see our team respond under pressure”.
Tindell’s goal marked her 15th of the season, tying her own season record she set during the 2013-14 season. It was also the 30th goal of her career making her the first player in the history of the school to reach that mark.
Wacker also aided the Eagle’s attack early on with a goal at the 6:01 mark to give the Eagles’ a 2-0 lead and giving Wacker her eighth goal on the season.
Lipscomb fought back in the second half with a long goal that cut the deficit to 2-1, but the Eagles eventually prevailed, aided by a strong defensive showing.
The Eagles’ are focused on finishing strong the rest of the season.
“We’re not going to let up because by no means will the other teams hand it over,” Wacker said.
Northern Kentucky University 
Junior Ally Kasun scored two goals helping the Eagles win 2-0 over Northern Kentucky University on the first of five home games at the Sports Complex on Friday night.
The first half was slow-paced as both teams looked for ways to finish a play but pressured each other well. The first goal came at the 33rd minute when sophomore Tabby Tindell fed the ball to Kasun through the middle, and she shot the right-top post 25 yards out putting the Eagles 1-0 ahead of NKU.
“Ally is the engine that makes us go,” Blankenship said. “She’s been the guy that we go through, and she doesn’t have the numbers like she did her freshman year because we put her in a different role and a different tactical situation. But as you can see she is very capable of stepping up and she put her stamp on this game. She scored two phenomenal goals.”
Brittany Brown’s save in the fourth minute was also vital for Friday’s victory. NKU landed a penalty kick early in the game from an FGCU foul in the box. Brown dove to the right stopping the powerful shot, which left the crowd in awe.
“The win is huge. It’s the first time we’ve been home in a while, so it’s nice. We started a little slow, but we got going and once we settled in they made my job easy,” Brown said.
Senior Melissa Arnold assisted the second goal of the night with a corner kick that came at the 50th minute and Kasun headed into the net.  The Eagles are the first to land a spot in the 2014 A-Sun Tournament.
“We kind of dodged a bullet early,” Blankenship said. “We didn’t come out ready and they caught us by surprise and manufactured a penalty kick. Brownie came up big for us and made the save. She wasn’t tested very often but that was huge because it’s so early in the game and it’s not the start we wanted and it’s not the start we’ve had all year. But overall it’s a good result against a good team. It keeps us at the top of the league. Credit to them, their defense held up, their goalkeeping was good and we had opportunities to score that they withstood it.”

Story continues below advertisement
More to Discover