DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.—The 22nd-ranked Embry-Riddle men's soccer team defeated NCAA II Nova Southeastern, 7-0 Tuesday night at Embry-Riddle Soccer Stadium. The win over the Sharks and former Eagle Assistant Coach Giuseppe “Joe” DePalo gave Head Coach Dave Gregson his 200th career victory and moved the Eagles to 4-2-1 on the year. Gregson's all-time record now stands at 200-106-23.
The Eagles wasted no time against the Sharks (2-3-1) as they got on the board just 54 seconds into the contest. Nicklas Petersson used his speed to take the ball from midfield all the way down the right side of the field into the corner of the Shark's defense. Petersson beat a man in the corner and was able to get a cross off that found freshman Veit Couturier right in front of the net. Couturier took one touch on the pass from Petersson and put the Eagles up, 1-0.
Embry-Riddle struck again in the 26th minute of play. Couturier played a ball just past midfield that found Anel Coralic on the left side of the field. Coralic beat two Shark defenders and rifled a shot with his right foot that beat Steffen Rau, the Shark goalkeeper, and put the Blue and Gold up, 2-0.
The Eagle men scored their third goal of the night in the 31st minute. Senior Michael Donald sent a pass to Ally MacDonald just outside of the 18-yard box on the Shark side of the pitch. Macdonald took a shot on goal that went off the post, but luckily for the Eagles Couturier was there for the rebound to give the Eagles a three goal lead.
Embry-Riddle outshot Nova Southeastern 11-6 in the first half and bested them in corner kicks, 3-2 to send them into the locker room at half with a 3-0 lead.
The Eagles came out attacking in the second half just as they did at the first whistle. Goal number four for the Eagle men came in the 57th minute off of the foot of MacDonald. MacDonald took a ball up the left side of the pitch, beat a handful of Shark defenders, and fired a shot past Rau in the bottom right corner.
The fifth goal of the match for the Eagles came just four minutes later in the 61st minute. Couturier found Donald just inside the 18-yard box and Donald was able to garner his first goal of the contest and put the Eagles ahead, 5-0.
Embry-Riddle dominated the pitch offensively, but neither team was able to score until the final two minutes of play when the Eagles scored two goals, including one as time expired on the clock, to seal the 7-0 win.
The Blue and Gold took 19 shots on the night, 11 on goal, and controlled the pitch the entire night. The Sharks were able to fire off 10 shots, but only one was on goal as the Eagle defense shut down any threat.
Couturier led the offensive assault with a hat trick and three assists. MacDonald and Donald both added a goal and an assist each, while Viktor Gudnason and Coralic scored for the Eagles.
The Eagles will return to Sun Conference play Saturday Sept. 24 when they host the Warner Royals at 7 p.m. at Embry-Riddle Soccer Stadium.
