LAKE WALES, Fla. - The 11th-ranked Embry-Riddle Eagles survived the Warner Royals' best shot on Wednesday evening, scoring two unanswered goals in the last twenty minutes of play at Royals Field to post a 3-2 comeback road win. The Blue and Gold (9-1, 7-0) stretched its winning streak to eight with the victory, thanks in large part to a pair of goals from freshman Sugurbergur Elisson. The Royals (6-6-1, 3-4) got two goals of their own from senior Diego De la Fuente, but couldn't find the equalizer after Elison's go-ahead goal in the 71st minute of play.
The first half was a true back-and-forth battle between the two sides, with neither team able to impose their will on the other. The Royals recorded the first shot of the contest, but
Nils Carlson had no trouble making the save, pushing the ball over the touch line for the first of seven Warner corner kicks in the period.
NAIA National Offensive Player of the Week
Nicklas Petersson tallied the first Eagle shot of the evening, but WU's Leo Viala watched the kick go wide right.
The first good opportunity for either team came in the 15th minute of play as a Royals' corner led to a header shot from Daniel Mosquera, but again, Carlson was up to the task, making his second save in as many attempts.
The middle portion of the period seemed to be controlled by the hosts, and on two separate occasions it looked like they would take a lead, but defender
Erik Norburg had other plans, clearing two dangerous through balls that would have led to great shots by the Royals.
Veit Couturier had his second shot of the night saved by Viala when the Warner keeper came way off his line to close down the junior forward, and was able to clear the ball when Couturier took his shot.
Viktor Gudnason had a rocket of a shot that was blocked outside the box in the 29th minute, and a few moments later the Eagles' drew first blood on a well built up series of plays.
Ally MacDonald got the ball in the Eagle half, carrying it over the line to find Couturier in the middle of the field. Couturier deftly one-touched the ball to a streaking Elisson and the rookie somehow got his right foot on the ball at a near-impossible angle, putting the shot into the upper-left hand corner of the goal for a 1-0 lead.
The first half ended with the visitors in front, but the Royals, celebrating senior night, came out aggresively in the second frame, registering several corner kicks and shots before Miguel Benito found De la Fuente on the right side of the Eagles' goal and the senior flicked it over Carlson to knot the score at 1-1.
The home team continued to up the pressure on the Eagle defenses and in the 59th minute a short corner led to nearly an identical goal for De la Fuente as he beat his defenders and Carlson for a 2-1 Warner lead.
Embry-Riddle was patiently waiting for an opportunity to strike and it finally came in the 71st minute when the Eagles earned a free kick on the left side of the pitch, just outside WU's box. Captain
Ally MacDonald stood behind the commotion in the box and when Petersson played the free kick back to Carlson about 25 yards out, no Royal defender was there to meet him. MacDonald's long-range screamer found the back of the net with ease and the Eagles found themselves level at 2-2.
Less than a minute later Petersson was given the ball on the right side of the field, dribbling towards the end line before getting a pass off to Elisson at the near post. The rookie got a head on the cross and Viala couldn't stop it as the Eagles went up, 3-2.
Over the final 20 minutes the Royals outshot the Eagles nine to one, but the Embry-Riddle defense held steady, and Carlson made two big time saves with the clock ticking down to preserve the one-goal differential.
Warner outshot the Eagles 25-12, including an 8-5 advantage on shots on goal. Carlson made six saves in net for the Blue and Gold, earning his ninth win of 2013.
The Eagles return to Daytona Beach for their final regular season home match of the season as they play host to Webber International on Saturday at 7 p.m.
