DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The top-seeded Embry-Riddle women's soccer team claimed its fourth consecutive Sun Conference tournament title with a decisive 3-0 victory over No. 2 seed St. Thomas, Friday at the Embry-Riddle Soccer Stadium. Ranked 15th in the latest NAIA national poll, the Eagles (15-5) earned an automatic bid to the 2012 NAIA National Championship Opening Round with the win and will learn their opponent when the 32-team field is announced on Monday.
The Eagles were led by their top three scorers,
Valerie Obita,
Martine Olsen and
Krizzy Menez, each of whom netted a goal in the contest.
The first half of play saw the Blue and Gold dominate on the offensive end, outshooting the Lady Bobcats 7-2 in the frame. The Eagles' chances in the opening minutes included a shot by Olsen, a second team All-Conference honoree, which was stopped by a STU defender and another by Obita, which was corralled by STU goalkeeper Victori Shahbaz.
The Eagles finally got on the scoreboard in the 29th minute courtesy of Obita's 17th goal of the year. The play started when Olsen played a long ball across the field to Obita on the run. The first team All-Conference selection took a couple of touches before taking a shot that skimmed both the crossbar and post as it went into the upper 90 for the 1-0 Eagle lead.
Nine minutes later, the Eagles won a throw-in on the right side of the field and got the ball to Menez who delivered a low cross into the box. Shabhaz dove to make a play on the ball but couldn't hold on to it pushing the ball to a wide open
Martine Olsen who took advantage of an empty net to put the Eagles up 2-0 at the half.
The Lady Bobcats increased their offensive pressure to start the first, including an attempt by Amanda Trujillo that was hauled in by ERAU goalkeeper
Lauren Gallant, but the Eagle defense was up to the challenge and turned the St. Thomas press into offensive chances on the other end of the field. Despite besting the Eagles 8-6 in shots in the second stanza, St. Thomas was unable to find the back of the net.
At the 64:09 mark, the Eagles were able to convert on a counter attack to add the insurance goal. Obita gathered the ball at the midfield stripe and with a deft touch, completed a short pass to Menez, who was also named to the All-Conference first team. The pass put Menez in a one-v-one situation with the Bobcats' last defender and the Eagle senior outpaced her marker, racing down the field into the box. With just Shahbaz to beat, Menez measured her shot and beat the St. Thomas goalkeeper into the lower right corner to extend the Eagle lead to 3-0.
St. Thomas matched ERAU's shot-on-goal output in the game with seven, but Gallant, who earned the first All-Conference first team nod of her career, was able to stop all seven attempts, collecting a season-high seven saves on the night. Shahbaz finished with three saves for the Lady Bobcats who ended their season at 11-4-2.
The NAIA National Championship Opening round will consist of 15 matches played at different campus sites across the country. The NAIA will announce the tournament pairings on Tuesday, Nov. 13 and that will determine the Eagles' next opponent.
