DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Freshman Valerie Obita contributed all three of Embry-Riddle's goals on Sunday afternoon as the 13th-ranked Eagles defeated St. Thomas 3-1 in Sun Conference play. It was Obita's first career hat trick as an Eagle, moving her season goal tally to 12, first on ERAU's squad. The Blue and Gold improved to 10-1-1 overall and 3-0-1 in conference action while STU went to 3-4-1 overall and 0-2-1 in TSC.
Obita, a native of Lindome, Sweden, scored the first of her trio of goals in the 17th minute, getting a perfectly placed pass from fellow freshman Martine Olsen that she was able to sneak past goalkeeper Ariana Lorenzo for the 1-0 Eagle lead.
The forward wasted little time in collecting her second goal, putting home a sliding shot into the back of the net after a great pass from senior Elina Johansson set her up. Obita's 11th score of the year put the Eagles up 2-0, a score they would carry into halftime.
Unlike the first half of play in which Embry-Riddle controlled all facets of the game, the second half saw the Bobcats increase pressure on the Eagle defense, but it was ERAU's Obita once again who completed her hat trick in the 56th minute. A play that began at midfield with Johansson beating multiple defenders before passing to Olsen on the right-hand side of the STU box was finished when Olsen sent the ball past the outstretched arms of Lorenzo to a waiting Obita who knocked in the third goal of the game.
St. Thomas showed resiliency just a few moments later when Sara Mira was able to get past the Eagles' backline of defense and beat Jennifer Grimes for STU's only goal of the game, accounting for the 3-1 final.
Grimes made several nice saves in the second half to keep the damage to just one goal for the Bobcats, and the defense that included Kara Haack, Briana Zangara, Madeleine Edbom and Allison Schultz helped preserve the 3-1 victory.
ERAU moved their unbeaten streak to 11 games, not having suffered a loss since the season opener against NCAA I Stetson on Aug. 26. The Eagles will look to extend their streak even further when they take on SCAD Savannah on Wednesday, Oct. 6 in Hardeeville, S.C.
