DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. ? Three second-half goals gave No. 6 Embry-Riddle a 3-1 victory over Warner Southern, Sunday in The Sun Conference action. The Eagles improve their record to 4-1-2, while the Royals fall to 6-4 on the season.
Embry-Riddle came out aggressively, taking two threatening shots in the first three minutes, including one from Ryan Woods that went just wide of the net and another by Marco Harleman that hit the near post.
Warner Southern definitely pressured the Eagles with their speed and technical play up front, but the Embry-Riddle defense did a good job containing the ball to keep the Royals off the scoreboard in the first half.
Embry-Riddle had a great opportunity to take the lead in the 29th minute after a free kick from Woods floated over the Royals' defense to find Joe Yoffe, who was set up on the far post. Yoffe sent a header ball straight down, but WSC goalkeeper Josh Havens scooped it up right before it crossed over the goal line.
Just one minute after the whistle blew for the start of the second half, Warner Southern took the lead. Mauricio Castano won a tight battle in the corner and sent a strong ball into the Eagles' box with a crafty bicycle kick. Eric Chaffiot touched the ball past Viktor Bergstrand into the net.
The Eagles answered four minutes later after a foul on WSC led to a free kick for Embry-Riddle. AJ Barrett sent a bending-ball into the Royals' box to find JL Wilson running in for a header. Wilson jumped above his defender and sent a hard shot right past Havens for his first goal of the season.
With the game tied at one goal apiece, both teams increased the intensity as they were eager to capture the lead. At 71:24, the Eagles capitalized on their attack for goal number two. After making a great run up the left side, Michael Donald sent a strong pass inside to Peter Masters, who then touched the ball to Sam Litchfield. Litchfield trapped the ball, made a quick turn and ripped a shot to the upper-90 of the net to go up 2-1.
The Eagles third goal came four minutes later off the foot of Yoffe. The play started when Barrett flicked a header ball to Litchfield, who then turned and passed the ball to Yoffe. Yoffe charged the net and snuck a shot past Havens for his fifth goal on the season.
Warner Southern started to play with a lot more urgency, as they organized several strong counter-attacks, but the defensive unit of Embry-Riddle continued to thwart their efforts.
The Royals had won four games in a row coming into this contest, but they could not find a way to turn their possessions into goals on Sunday night, giving Embry-Riddle their 20th win over WSC in the all-time series.
The Eagles will be back in action on Wednesday when they host St. Thomas at 7 p.m.
