DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. ?Embry-Riddle women's soccer's 2008 season got off to a soggy and abbreviated start as they battled rival Flagler to a 1-1 tie, Tuesday at the Embry-Riddle Soccer Complex. The last 20 minutes of the match were played amidst a torrential downpour that resulted in pools of water on the playing surface, making passes on the ground nearly impossible. The officials eventually stopped play when lightning was spotted in the area. Despite a hard-fought contest, the game will not count towards either team's overall record as the game was seven minutes short of the 70 minutes required for a game to be official.

The first goal of the match came in the 11th minute after fancy footwork by Elina Johansson allowed her to get by a Flagler player on the left side of the midfield. She got the ball to Madeleine Edbom who won a corner kick for the Eagles. Kristen Phelps took the ensuing corner kick and found Sarah Hirst unmarked on the near side of the goal. Hirst's header, the Eagles' first shot of the game, went off the glove of Flagler goalkeeper Kaitlyn Goffe and into the net for a 1-0 Eagle advantage.

The Saints got a goal back with 2:43 left in the first half, when Eileen New pounced on a missed clearance by the Embry-Riddle defense and lifted a ball from 20 yards out over the head of Embry-Riddle netminder Dina Roper to tie the game at 1-1.

Play was delayed by approximately 25 minutes following an injury to Phelps just four minutes into the second half. As Phelps was being attended to, what began as a drizzle turned into a deluge by the time play resumed. Both teams continued to battle hard, but neither was able to mount a serious offense due to the challenging conditions. The game was called with 27 minutes left on the clock

The Eagles return to action at 7 p.m. on Friday when they host Palm Beach Atlantic at the Embry-Riddle Soccer Stadium.