HARDEEVILLE, S.C. – The Embry-Riddle men's soccer team saw its season come to an end on Friday night as the Eagles (5-6-4, 5-4-1) fell to SCAD Savannah (11-2-4, 9-0-1) 1-0 in a Sun Conference Tournament semifinal matchup.
 
The game was scoreless after regulation, but SCAD's Jordan Trinci-Lyne found the back of the net less than two minutes into the first sudden death overtime period to give the top seeded Bees a win, allowing them to advance to Saturday evening's Sun Conference Tournament final against Thomas University.
 
Friday evening's contest looked very similar to the last game between ERAU and SCAD, as it was a defensive battle throughout.  Scoring chances for both teams were far and few between in the first half as neither squad could get off a shot on goal in the opening frame.
 
The Bees looked as though they might threaten to score midway through the first half as they attempted three shots and three corner kicks in a span of less than three minutes.  The Eagles' defense held up though, blocking two of the shots, with the third attempt by SCAD's Alex Jamroz sailing way off target to right of the goal.
 
It looked as if the Eagles would be first team to score in the 31st minute as Lewis Blackmore sent a pass to a streaking Veit Couturier on the left side of the box.  Couturier quickly sent the ball past SCAD goalkeeper Fernando Zeledon, but was called offsides.
 
The Blue and Gold had another scoring opportunity again six minutes later.  With a defender closing in on him, Jordan Thorpe took what looked to be an open shot from the top right corner of the box, but the defender was able to catch up to Thorpe and block the attempt. 
 
The Bees took two quick shots in the closing minutes of the half, but the ERAU defense did not allow either ball to get close to the net.
 
The second period was a bit more difficult for the Eagles as SCAD put on the offensive pressure and had two shots on goal in the opening minutes of the frame.  Will Oswin fired a shot from the top of the box, but the ball went right into the hands of ERAU goalkeeper Nils Carlson.  Several minutes later, Trinci-Lyne headed a cross from right in front of the goal, but Carlson played it perfectly and made an easy save to preserve the scoreless match.
 
Embry-Riddle looked as if it were going to have a scoring opportunity in the 60th minute as freshman Daniel Gylfason took the ball from midfield and evaded multiple defenders on his way to 18-yard mark.  Gylfason had just one defender to beat and would have had an opportunity to take an open shot or pass the ball to a wide open Blackmore, but he was brought down hard with no foul called.
 
SCAD dominated possession for the remainder of the second frame and ERAU was unable to get a shot off for nearly 20 minutes.  The Bees, however, took a flurry of shot attempts, several which looked as though they might find the back of the net. 
 
Jamroz fired a shot to left of Carlson in the 68th minute, and while the senior goalkeeper made the save, he mishandled the ball for moment and it nearly rolled through his legs.  A few minutes later, Carlson was drawn out of position after a blocked shot, which led to SCAD's Jake Prescott taking a shot that looked like it would sneak under the cross bar, but ended up floating just over the net.  The Eagles had another scare in the 81st minute as Trinci-Lyne headed a ball from point blank range that hit of the right post.
 
The Blue and Gold had several scoring opportunities in the final 10 minutes of the period.  The first came in the 83rd minute when Blackmore rifled a shot from the right side of the box that ended up in the hands of the goalkeeper.  The second was perhaps the Eagles best scoring chance of the match.  With less than three minutes remaining in regulation, Gylfason sent a short pass to Couturier who heeled the ball from just in front of the goal, but Zeledon was able to make the save as he dove to his right.
 
SCAD caused another scare for the Eagles a couple of minutes later as it nearly ended the match at the end of regulation.  The Bees took a corner kick with 10 seconds remaining that led to two consecutive shots, but the Eagle defense remained stout and was able to block both attempts.
 
Despite being outshot 16-3 in the second half the Eagles were able to keep the game scoreless and send the match to sudden death overtime.
 
However, less than two minutes into the overtime period, SCAD's Taylor Katsanis crossed the ball to Prescott, who flicked the ball to Trinci-Lyne who was able to put the ball in the right side of the net and give the Bees a 1-0 victory.
 
Overall, SCAD outshot Embry-Riddle 24-7 in the match with a 6-2 advantage in shots on goal.  The Bees also had an 11-2 advantage on corner kicks.
 
Friday night's loss marked the second consecutive season that Embry-Riddle has lost to SCAD in the semifinals of the Sun Conference Tournament. 
 
Five Eagle seniors will graduate this year after excellent careers wearing blue and gold, including Couturier, Carlson, Jason Alvarez, Brian Porter and Jeff Bone.  Couturier ends his ERAU career with the second most goals (51) and points (127) in school history, while Carlson ends his career with most shutouts (25) in program history and the second most minutes played (6,462).