DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. ? The Embry-Riddle men's soccer team battled back from one goal down to take a 3-1 win against conference foe St. Thomas in Florida Sun Conference action on Saturday. Senior Ian Thompson led the way with a goal and an assist as the Blue and Gold improved their record to 7-3 overall and 3-2 in league play.
“That was a first class performance by the boys,” coach Gregson commented. “There was an amazing display of attacking football in the second half. We made a couple of changes at half time and they responded very positively. I'm so proud of the way we played tonight; it was like the Embry-Riddle team from three weeks ago.”
The Bobcats struck first in the 14th minute. Stefan Peretz got the ball on the right side and got a cross off. ERAU keeper Ian Levine could not hold on to the ball and Andres Amortegui was there to slot home the rebound to give St. Thomas a one-goal lead.
The Eagles came out with renewed determination in the second frame and put St. Thomas under constant pressure for the majority of the half. In addition to holding a 3-0 advantage in corner kicks, ERAU had a 19-1 shot advantage, including shots the bounced of the post, hit the cross bar and went everywhere except the back of the net.
Their persistence eventually paid off as the Eagles finally broke through with a goal in the 77th minute. Daniel Whelan received the ball from Jimmie Berry just inside the 18-yard box, but his shot was stopped by Bobcat netminder Diego Villegas. Villegas could not hold on to the ball and Thompson was on hand to slot home the equalizer.
Thompson also had a hand in the game winner a little over a minute later. Thompson took the ball down the field and got off a cross to Berry on the left side. Berry settled the ball, dribbled once and beat Villegas low with his next touch to put the Eagles in front, 2-1.
The Eagles clinched the game with just 26 seconds left on the clock. Peter Masters got the ball at the top of the 18 and his first touch under pressure found Joe Yoffe on the run. Yoffe found himself one-on-one with Villegas and danced around the advancing keeper to seal the Eagle win with his team-high 14th goal of the year.
The Embry-Riddle men return to the pitch at 3 p.m. on Tuesday when they travel to West Palm Beach to take on Northwood.
