DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Senior Cecilie Henriksen's penalty kick goal in the second overtime of the 2011 Sun Conference Women's Soccer Tournament title game, gave the eighth-ranked Embry-Riddle Eagles their third tournament crown in as many years. The Eagles (16-2-1) downed St. Thomas (12-6), 2-1 in the game, giving the Blue and Gold an automatic bid to its fifth consecutive NAIA National Tournament. The bracket for the 32-team national tournament will be released Sunday, Nov. 13 by 8 p.m.

Henriksen's penalty kick came as a result of a foul in the penalty box, committed by a St. Thomas defender after freshman Charlotta Edeland beat the STU defense to a ball played by Valerie Obita. Henriksen calmly stepped to the penalty spot and placed her shot to give the Eagles their third-straight 2-1 victory in The Sun Conference Tournament finale, and Henriksen her second straight game-winner in the tournament title contest.

At the beginning of the game it looked as if the second-seeded Eagles would run away with the match, only taking 8:39 off the clock before going up 1-0 on the visiting Bobcats. A corner kick by Henriksen found the head of Obita who was able to get the ball to Krizzy Menez standing in front of STU keeper Ariana Lorenzo. Menez's flick over the leaping Lorenzo found the back of the net and gave the Eagles the early advantage.

The first half continued to provide opportunities for the Eagles, especially at the 26:30 mark when ERAU's leading goal-scorer, Martine Olsen, appeared to have the Bobcat defense beat, but a hustle play by an STU defender denied Olsen a shot at goal, and kept the score at 1-0.

Eagle goalie Lauren Gallant was not challenged very much during the opening period, not having to make a save, but Monica Lozano provided a huge boost for the fourth-seeded Bobcats when she collected her own rebound off the crossbar in the 44th minute of action and buried a shot past Gallant to knot the score at 1-1 right before the half.

The Eagles outshot the Bobcats 7-5 in the first half, including a 4-1 advantage in shots on goal, but they found themselves deadlocked with STU at halftime.

Coming out of the break, the Bobcats nearly ruined their chances of an upset bid when an errant pass back by a STU defender had to be saved by Lorenzo just two minutes into the second half.

Both teams turned up the aggresiveness in the second period, creating more and more opportunities for both squads. Two yellow cards were issued as the physicality from both sides increased.

Allison Schultz almost put the hosts up by a goal with a header in the 65th minute, again off a Henriksen corner. But Lorenzo was able to swat the ball away, right to a waiting Menez. Menez's shot was destined for the goal, but a tremendous save by a Bobcat defender kept the tie intact.

The Bobcats threatened in the second half, but were never able to get a shot on goal in the period, as the Eagles had the majority of the scoring chances, but were unable to capitalize, sending the match into sudden-death overtime.

The first overtime featured just two shots, one by each team, neither coming close to the target.

Gallant got her only save of the night in the second overtime period, making a nice grab of an Emelie Johansson shot three minutes in. But it would be the Eagles who would score the game-winner, thanks to the good buildup from Obita and the defender Edeland, ending the well-played contest.

"I want to give credit to Michelle Smith and her staff," Eagle Head Coach Samantha Bohon said. "We knew that they would come out ready to play, and they did just that. That being said, I'm thrilled for us to realize one of our goals, and that was to win the conference tournament. The fortitude of the girls to just keep working was incredible. We had several good chances in the second half, but we just couldn't put them away. But to still stick with it and not be discouraged and finally get the game-winner is thrilling. Now we can look forward to representing The Sun Conference in a good way at nationals."

The Eagles outshot STU, 17-12 (7-2 SOG), and had five more corner kicks (8-3). Both teams were called for a pair of offsides, and the Bobcats committed 18 fouls to the Eagles' seven.

The Eagles, who have won 11 in a row, will be making their eighth appearance at the NAIA National Tournament in program history, and will most likely host an Opening Round game. 16 Opening Round games are slated for Saturday, Nov. 19 at 16 separate campus sites across the country.