BOXSCORE
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The sixth-ranked Embry-Riddle women's soccer team opened its 2013 home slate on a strong note as the Eagles dispatched 14th-ranked William Carey 5-1, Sunday at the Embry-Riddle Soccer Stadium. Sunday's victory avenged last season's 3-2 loss to the Lady Crusaders and moved the Eagles' overall record to 1-0-1.
"I'd like to give a lot of credit to William Carey," ERAU Head Coach
Samantha Bohon said. "We knew coming in that they were an especially talented side this year and I still say that walking away."
The game got off to a slow start as both times tried to adjust to the unusual game time and the heat that accompanied the mid-morning contest. William Carey recorded the first two shots of the day, but a subtle shift in momentum saw the Eagles put up three shots on frame in a three-minute span.
The pressure paid of for ERAU in the 34th minute.
Katherine Ebbs won the ball in the and carried it out to the top right corner of the 18- yard box before lifting a cross into the box. Ebbs' cross pulled William Carey goalkeeper Linfah Jones out of position and ERAU sophomore Andrea Frøshaug shook her defender just enough to run on to the ball and volley it into the back of the net to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead.
The goal turned the tide in favor of the Eagles as they kept the Lady Crusaders pinned in their defensive half for the next 10 minutes. The Eagles created several more scoring opportunities, but were unable to capitalize and took the one-goal advantage into the halftime break.
The second half saw the Blue and Gold score early and often. The Eagles' second goal came just seven minutes into the frame when
Isabelle Haaranen controlled the ball just outside the box, held off her defender and slipped a low pass to
Valerie Obita, who tapped in her first goal of the year to increase the lead to 2-0.
Just three minutes later,
Tova Torstensson lifted a long cross from the right into the box. WCU defender Rhiannon Ishmael managed to get a head on the ball but her deflection fell to the feet of an unmarked Obita who buried her second goal of the day to put the Blue and Gold up 3-0.
The Lady Crusaders were able to get a goal back in the 63rd minute when Claudia Saucedo played a ball into the path of Blaire Guice who saw the Eagles'
Olivia Lynch come off her line and chipped the ERAU goalkeeper for WCU's only goal of the day.
Following the temporary lapse on defense, the Eagles regrouped to score two more goals in quick succession. The first came off the head of
Martine Olsen who netted her first goal of the year by finishing an Ebbs corner taken from the left side at the 70:42 mark. Less than two minutes later, Ebbs went to the corner flag again, this time taking the set piece from the right side. The junior swung the ball into the box where it slipped through the outstretched hands of substitute WCU goalkeeper Destiny Louviere and curled into the net to seal the 5-1 win.
"We created a lot of chances in our last couple of games and scrimmages and hadn't been able to finish, so this afternoon it was nice to see us put some in the back of the net," Bohon stated.
For the game, Embry-Riddle bested William Carey 15-7 in shots and 7-1 in corner kicks. Jones pulled in four saves before exiting the game with an injury in the 52
nd minute to take the loss for WCU. Lynch pulled in three saves in the third start of her collegiate career.
The Eagles return to action at noon on Monday to take on No.7 Mobile at the Embry-Riddle Soccer Stadium.
"We are expecting a battle tomorrow with a good Mobile team," Bohon commented. "We're going to have our work cut out for us, but we're going to focus on recovering. Today was a good start to the NAIA schedule for us this season."
