DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. ? Brelyn Bingham, Britney Commander, Jessica Diego, Amanda Diego and Sarah Hirst each played the final regular season home game of their Embry-Riddle careers on Sunday and the 2008 senior class went out on a high note, recording a 2-0 shutout of St. Thomas. The win brings the Eagles' record in The Sun Conference to 4-2 and their overall record to 6-5.
All five seniors started in Sunday's game and all five helped to created scoring chances, including two shots on frame by Hirst and one by Jessica Diego.
The Eagles had the better of the offense to start the game, but St. Thomas got its offense going halfway through the first frame and outshot the Eagles 7-6 in the half. But neither team was able to find the back of the net in the first 42 minutes of play as Bingham and St. Thomas Denisse Montero came up with some clutch saves to hold their respective opponents at bay through the majority of the first half.
The Eagles finally broke the stalemate with 2:58 left in the half. After a five straight Eagle throw-ins from the same spot, Elina Johansson, who entered the game as a sub late in the half, played a ball into Madeleine Edbom at the top of the box. Edbom's first touch went right back to Johansson on the run and Johansson tapped in her 11th goal of the season to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead at the half.
The intensity of the match picked up in the second half as St. Thomas tried to get on the scoreboard and Embry-Riddle tried to add to its advantage. But while both teams were fairly equal in possession, the Eagles created more scoring chances, outshooting the Bobcats 6-1.
Their tenacity finally paid off as the Eagles added an insurance goal with 17:02 left in the game. Chloe Cowart played a ball from the Bobcats' half of the field over the top of the St. Thomas defense that was holding its back line about 10 yards off the midfield line. Cecilie Henriksen ran on to the ball ahead of the Bobcats' last defender and was on her way to goal but was tripped up by the Bobcat goalkeeper about 15 yards outside the box. Despite being impeded, Henriksen managed to get the ball to Coley Paladino running down the left side and Paladino took advantage of an empty net to chip in her second goal of the season to seal the win.
Bingham finished the game with four saves in her first shutout of the season, while Montero managed three saves for the Bobcats who fall to 3-11-1 overall and 2-7 in the league.
The Eagles will play the remainder of their regular season schedule on the road, beginning with Warner Southern at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in Lake Wales. The Blue and Gold will return to the friendly confines of the Embry-Riddle Soccer Stadium in December when they host the 25th Annual NAIA Women's Soccer National Championship, Dec. 1-6.
