Eagles host A-Sun final four
The Atlantic Sun Championship in women’s soccer resumes today with two semifinal matches at the FGCU Soccer Complex.
At 4 p.m., No. 2 Lipscomb takes on No. 6 Kennesaw State in the first match of the weekend. Kennesaw State reached the semifinals after defeating defending A-Sun champion Jacksonville 5-0 in the quarterfinals last weekend.
Host-team and No. 1 seed FGCU then takes on No. 5 Northern Kentucky at 7 p.m. The Norse recorded their first A-Sun Championship victory last Saturday by taking out No. 4 North Florida 2-0.
Today’s winners meet Sunday for the championship at 1:00 p.m.
The semifinal matches can be seen for free on A-Sun TV. Sunday’s Final will be broadcast on ESPN3.
The Eagles (15-3, 7-0 A-Sun) won back-to-back A-Sun Championships in 2011 and 2012 and was runner-up last season.
No. 1 seeds have gone 23-3-4 in the A-Sun Championship match.
FGCU hosted the 2013 tournament and faced Jacksonville in the championship final. Both teams remained scoreless through the full 90 minutes and through two overtimes. The Dolphins ultimately advanced on penalty kicks, 5-3.
This year marks the fourth-straight year FGCU entered postseason play as the No. 1 seed in the A-Sun Championship. The Eagles advanced to the championship final in each of the last three years and looking at extending that to four in a row.
The Eagles are 9-0 this season on their home pitch as opposed to 6-3 on the road. They are riding an 11-game winning streak into the postseason.
FGCU returns nine starters from its 2013 runner-Up team. Brittany Brown, Shea Rhoney, Paulina Speckmaier, Melissa Arnold, Julia Roddar, Kaitlin Parker, Ally Kasun, Emma Blackwell and Tabby Tindell all return for the Eagles.
FGCU placed six student-athletes on the All-Conference first team with Brown, Blackwell, Speckmaier, Kasun, Tindell and Shannen Wacker each earning spots. Defender Arnold took a spot on the second team.
Tindell collected the A-Sun Player of the Year award by unanimous decision. The sophomore forward has 17 goals and 41 points to lead the conference this year. Blackwell claimed the Defender of the Year for the Eagles.
Brown leads all A-Sun goalkeepers in save percentage at .849 and GAA with a 0.62 mark. She adds nine shutouts to her 2014 campaign.