Hall of Fame
Tova Torstensson was a standout four-year student-athlete for the Embry-Riddle women’s soccer team. The Stockholm, Sweden native came to Embry-Riddle in the fall of 2010 and immediately secured a spot in the starting lineup, anchoring the Eagles’ back line. By the end of her career, she had started in each of her 86 games played and is Embry-Riddle’s all-time leader in minutes played (6,962).
Torstensson was part of the group that helped Embry-Riddle women’s soccer achieve national prominence in the NAIA ranks. During her time with the Eagles, Embry-Riddle made four NAIA National Tournament appearances, including three consecutive trips to the national quarterfinals. In addition, the Blue and Gold won The Sun Conference regular season title in 2010 and 2011 and the Sun Conference tournament championship in 2012.
While her position isn’t one known for filling up a stat sheet, Torstensson’s presence on the back line helped the Eagles to some impressive team numbers, such as 41 shutouts in her four years, including 12 in 2013. She also made her presence felt on the offensive end of the field, capping her career with 16 points on three goals and 10 assists.
Torstensson holds the distinction of being the only Embry-Riddle women’s soccer player to earn NCAA II All-America honors four times. She was a first team selection in 2010, a second team honoree in 2011 and was named to the third team in 2012 and 2013. Torstensson was also a four-time first team All-Conference selection.
Selected team captain as a sophomore, Torstensson retained that title throughout the remainder of her career, leading the Eagles on and off the field. A 2013 CoSIDA (now College Sports Communicators) Academic All-District selection with a 3.48 GPA in pursuit of her undergraduate degree in Business Administration, she was also a tutor for accounting and finance in Embry-Riddle’s College of Business.
Since graduating from Embry-Riddle, Torstensson has worked in the finance department at QR Cargo-Qatar Airways, as a regional controller for H&M Home, and is now the CFO at Björk & Berries in Stockholm.
“I’ve often credited her class with being the catalyst for the nationally-relevant trajectory of our women’s soccer program at Embry-Riddle. And, there’s no doubt Tova played an essential role in this growth. She was our bedrock! We built our title-contending program around her. In 24 years of college coaching, she has been the most complete all-around leader I’ve ever coached. She checked every box! Known for her competitive fire, superhuman consistency, and empowering leadership, Tova affected every facet of our program. She modeled standards of fitness, held the team accountable on/off the field, pushed the coaching staff to bring our best, and executed that same level of performance in the classroom. It is only fitting that we honor her with this induction as I feel confident saying our ERAU women’s soccer program would not be where it is today without her.”
Samantha Bohon
Embry-Riddle Women’s Soccer Head Coach, 2007-21
“It isn’t just on the field that Tova impacted the campus at Embry Riddle. Academically, she was known for her success in the classroom and for the way she interacted with professors and classmates. A Dean’s List student, Tova helped tutor fellow students within the Business department and gained a reputation for being someone who would always be on hand to help others.
She was instrumental in helping maintain team standards in the classroom as she made sure to teach the incoming players the expectations of being a women’s soccer player and how to uphold the values of the overall student, person, player package. Off the field, Tova was high energy person. She was very popular amongst the players and staff and just a great person to have around. One of my favorite traits of Tova’s is the fact she is a highly positive individual. Even when times were difficult for herself and her teammates, she always did her best to remain positive and create a good atmosphere for everyone. She remains a popular individual within the alumni group and that is testament to the career that she had and the friendships that she made during her time here at Embry Riddle.”
Liam McIlhatton
Embry-Riddle Women’s Soccer Assistant Coach, 2010-21
Embry-Riddle Women’s Soccer Head Coach, 2022-Present
“I had the pleasure of starting my journey at Embry-Riddle in 2010 alongside Tova, as I was a junior transfer, and she was a freshman. Tova demanded immediate attention amongst her teammates and not just for her bright red hair, that gave her the nickname Lava Girl, but rather for her energetic personality, grit on the field and determination on and off the field to give everything she had to the success of the team. She was noticed by other Conference coaches and was elected to the first team All-Conference team as a freshman and kept her seat on that selection team all four years.”
Bjorg Olafs
Embry-Riddle Women’s Soccer, 2010-11
