NAIA #5 Embry-Riddle (11-2-1, 6-1) vs. Southeastern (3-10, 1-5)
DATE: Thursday Oct. 17, 2013
CITY: Lakeland, Fla.
SITE: Southeastern Field
START: 7 p.m.
SERIES: ERAU leads 4-0
LAST MEETING: ERAU def. SEU 8-0 on Aug. 18, 2012
LIVE STATS: Stretch Internet
TWITTER: @ERAUWSoccer
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ABOUT THE EAGLES
The Eagles are ranked fifth nationally and top The Sun Conference's North Division with a 6-1 league record.
LAST TIME OUT
The Eagles' last game saw the Blue and Gold get goals from six different scorers on the way to a 6-0 win over Ave Maria on Thursday. Senior forward
Valerie Obita scored a goal in the first half to break the Embry-Riddle all-time scoring record with 66 career goals.
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Francesca Singleton and the Lady Gyrenes defense kept the Eagles off the scoreboard until the 20th minute.
Katherine Ebbs sailed a corner kick towards the goal, Singleton got a hand to the ball but pushed it into the path of
Johanna Karlsson who measured her shot and put away her first goal of the season.
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Less than a minute later, Obita dribbled the ball down the middle and played
Isabelle Haaranen just to the right of the box, Haaranen beat a defender and shot the ball past Singleton and found the back of the net to put the Eagles up 2-0.
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The Blue and Gold had the Lady Gyrenes pinned to their side of the pitch most of the first half, and in the 38th minute the Eagles found the net again. Obita took control of an Ebbs free kick and fired a shot past Singleton to give the senior her 12th goal of the season and the 66th of her career.
The Eagles increased their lead to 4-0 with a
Kristin Sverrisdottir goal in the 72nd minute. Five minutes later freshman
Caitlyn Rymarchyk netted the first goal of her career and
Dana Robins followed suit with under two minutes remaining and her first goal as an Eagle sealed the 6-0 win.
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ABOUT THE FIRE
Head Coach Bronson Gamble is in his first season with the Southeastern women's soccer team. The Fire dropped 3-10 overall and 1-5 in conference play following a 6-1 loss to Thomas on Thursday.
Jessica Crowe is the Fire's leading scorer with nine goals, while Karleigh Smoak has 68 saves and a 5.67 goals against average.
THE ERAU-SEU SERIES
Embry-Riddle leads the all-time series against Southeastern 4-0, including an 8-0 decision on Aug. 18, 2012.
THE LAST TIME THEY MET
The Embry-Riddle women's soccer team got opened its 2012 season with an 8-0 victory over visiting Southeastern on Aug. 18.
The Eagles dominated from the start, as the Fire managed just three shots, one on goal, in 90 minutes of play. ERAU amassed 26 shots, 16 on goal and tallied 15 corner kicks.
ERAU controlled the ball for the majority of the first half, but it was 30 minutes until the Eagles scored their first goal of the season, an 18-footer from junior
Martine Olsen, at the 36:39 mark. It took just 33 seconds before the second goal of the season was delivered by
Valerie Obita, who headed home a rebound from
Katherine Ebbs shot that hit the cross bar.
Southeastern goalkeeper Karleigh Smoak was solid in the first half, however, the relentless drive of the Eagle forwards eventually wore her down as ERAU posted six goals in the second half.
Ebbs got the scoring started, putting a ball just over the head of Smoak with an assist from Olsen 47:19 into the game. Obita scored her second at the 47:48 mark, heading a corner kick from
Kristin Sverrisdottir to expand the lead to 4-0.
Olsen then added two goals in a six-second span to record a hat trick. Olsen's second goal came on a cross from
Tova Torstensson and the third was an unassisted shot from just outside the midfield circle that caught Smoak off her line.
Sverrisdottir and Ebbs each added one goal each, giving the Eagles the 8-0 victory.
RAISING THE BAR
Valerie Obita vaulted to the top of the Eagles' all-time scoring charts with a goal against Ave Maria on Thursday. Obita, who was tied with fellow-senior
Martine Olsen at 65 going into Thursday's game, claimed the record outright and now stands at 66.
Against Johnson & Wales, Obita matched Elina Johansson's (2007-10) single-game scoring record with a five-goal output.
Olsen (155) and Obita (154) rank second and third, respectively behind Johansson in career points.
ERAU Women's Soccer Individual Records
EMBRY-RIDDLE BY THE NUMBERS
2 - NAIA National Quarterfinal Appearances
3 - Conference tournament titles held by ERAU Women's Soccer
5 - Current rank for ERAU Women's Soccer in NAIA Top 25 poll
5 - Seniors on the 2013 roster
12 - Goals by
Valerie Obita in 2013
12 - NAIA National Tournament Appearances
16 - Seasons of Embry-Riddle Women's Soccer
60 - Wins amassed by the 2013 senior class
66 – Career goals scored by
Valerie Obita
89 - Wins by Head Coach
Samantha Bohon now in her seventh season at ERAU
104 - All-time conference wins by Embry-Riddle
IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
The Eagles are currently ranked fifth in the NAIA Women's Soccer Coaches' poll. Playing one of the toughest schedules in the country, the Eagles have notched wins over No. 1 Lindsey Wilson, No. 2 Concordia (Ore.) and No. 10 William Carey.
