DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The 10th-ranked Embry-Riddle women's soccer team closed out its regular season slate with a 4-0 win over Sun Conference opponent Warner, Sunday at the Embry-Riddle Soccer Stadium. With the win, the Eagles solidified its hold on the No. 2 spot in the final regular season conference standings with a 9-1 league record and improved to 14-2-1 overall.
Offensively, the Eagles controlled the majority of the possession totaling 28 shots, 16 of which were on frame. On the other end of the field, the ERAU defense limited the Lady Royals to just two shots, only one of which was on target, as the Eagles earned its eighth shutout of the year.
At the 9:10 mark, Cecilie Henrikssen received the ball at the top of the center circle in the Royals' half of the field and picked out
Krizzy Menez on the right. Menez used her pace to elude the last Warner defender and after taking the ball into the box, the junior beat Warner goalkeeper Heather Romanosky to put the Blue and Gold up 1-0.
The second Eagle goal came with just under 14 minutes remaining in the first half.
Allison Schultz drew a foul in the midfield and the ensuing free was taken by Henrikssen. Henrikssen's long ball made its way to the six-yard box where it was met by an unmarked
Bjorg Olafs who headed home her third goal of the season to give the Eagles a 2-0 advantage at the half
The Eagles continued to dominate possession in the second half, but it wasn't until the 71st minute that they were able to find the back of the net again. After displaying some deft footwork to get away from a couple of Warner markers, Olafs played a ball out of the back to Olsen. Olsen carried the ball about 40 yards down the field into the box where she slotted a low shot past Romanosky to make the score 3-0.
Olsen continued to add to her team-best goal scoring total with another score in the 82nd minute. The sophomore, who set an ERAU single-season scoring record against South Carolina Beaufort on Wednesday, received the ball at the midfield stripe and her quick turn allowed Olsen to create space between her and a Warner defender. That space was all Olsen needed as she out-paced the Warner defense over 60 yards and tapped a shot into the lower right corner to seal the Eagle win.
“To be honest I thought that was one of the worst first halves we've had this season,” ERAU head coach
Samantha Bohon stated following the match. “We were playing a bit of kickball and generally seemed out of sorts, so I challenged the team at halftime to be more possession-minded and to finish more of our opportunities. I was pleased with the way they responded and am happy to finish the regular season the way we did. Now we have to gear up for what will be a very competitive conference tournament.”
By virtue of their second-place finish in The Sun Conference regular season standings, the Eagles have secured the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament, which gets underway on Thursday. The Eagles will received a first-round bye and will take on the winner of the match between the No. 3 and No. 6 seeds in semifinal action, Saturday at 5 p.m. at the Embry-Riddle Soccer Stadium.
