DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Andrea Froshaug's late goal lifted the second-ranked Embry-Riddle women's soccer team to a 2-1 victory over NAIA No. 6 Lindsey Wilson, Wednesday at the Embry-Riddle Soccer Stadium. The win marked only the second time in the six-game series that the Eagles have topped the Blue Raiders. ERAU now stands at 12-1 on the year, while the Blue Raiders fall to 7-3-2 with the loss.
The first few minutes of play featured end-to-end action as both teams fought to gain control in the middle of the park.
At the 9:18 mark,
Katherine Ebbs was fouled at the midfield stripe. Ebbs made her way up the field toward the 18-yard box and was in position to deliver a flick-on header to
Isabelle Haaranen who settled the ball with one touch and maneuvered around a LWC defender with next before depositing her ninth goal of the year into the upper 90 for a 1-0 Eagle lead.
After the goal, the game went back to the way it started with both teams trying to control possession. Attacking opportunities came at a premium with both teams combining for just five shots in the half. The only shot on frame gave Embry-Riddle the one-goal edge, which they took into the halftime break.
The second half started in much the same way as the first with both teams looking for that combination that would lead to a goal.
With 20 minutes left in regulation, the Blue Raiders were awarded a corner kick. ERAU goalkeeper
Olivia Lynch came off her line to punch out Bettina Bruhlhart's offering, but the ball didn't clear the box and after a brief scramble in the penalty area, Karin Bernet slipped a shot into the lower left corner to draw Lindsey Wilson level at 1-1.
In the aftermath of the Lindsey Wilson goal, the Eagles stepped up their pressure on the offense, keeping the Blue Raiders pinned in their half of the pitch for much of the possession. The Blue and Gold's persistence finally paid off in the 80th minute. The play started in the back with
Helena Hansson who, despite strong pressure from the LWC side, kept her dribble and managed to get off a pass as she went to ground, releasing Andrea Froshaug on the left side. Froshaug, who had made several dangerous runs down the flanks throughout the contest, received the ball behind the Lindsey Wilson defense and sped unimpeded into the box where she beat LWC keeper Johanna Henriksson for the game-winning goal.
"First, I want to congratulate Drew and his team for a well-played game," ERAU Head Coach
Samantha Bohon said after the match. "They have been a benchmark program in NAIA women's soccer for a long time, and today showed why.
"I thought we started the game feeling things out a bit. We could have done a better job of possessing, but I felt we still had some dangerous attacks. It was a great goal by Isa to give us the lead early. A big key to today's game for us was to stay organized and disciplined when we lost the ball. Helena [Hansson] and Hanna [Rolfsen] had solid games in the back tonight. I was encouraged to see us lift our level and possession for the second half. We still have things that need to get better, but this was a nice result to get as we close out the end of conference play. We have a huge game Saturday at Thomas, so we'll enjoy this tonight and start focusing on them tomorrow."
The Eagles will play their last three games of the regular season on the road, beginning with a 3 p.m. Sun Conference match against Thomas on Saturday.
