SAINT LEO, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle women's soccer team converted on a pair of set pieces to grab a 2-1 overtime win over Saint Leo, Saturday at the Saint Leo Soccer Field. The Eagles scored on a penalty kick in the second half and from a corner kick in overtime to improve their record to 8-3-1, while the Lions move to 6-6-1 on the year.
 
"Tonight's game was a gut check for our group," ERAU Head Coach Samantha Bohon said. "We knew it was going to be a physical battle and a fun atmosphere in which to play. Both proved to be true. I thought Emmie [Johansson] and Katherine [Ebbs] were critical to our success tonight. They both were very good!  Ged [O'Connor] had his team organized and playing a variation of a system that we hadn't seen, but I liked that our team picked it up pretty quickly."
 
The Eagles' first chance to find the back of the net came in the ninth minute when they won a free kick. Ebbs' low, driven ball cleared the wall but SLU goalkeeper saw the ball all the way and scooped up Ebbs' attempt to keep the Blue and Gold off the board.
 
Seven minutes later, the Eagles collected the ball deep in their defensive third and found Isabelle Haaranen on the counter attack. Haaranen racing down the left side and Andrea Froshaug on the right created a two-v-one situation for the Eagles. Haaranen was able to capitalize on the advantage and took the ball into the box but her attempt went just left of the goal to keep the score at 0-0.
 
In the 28th minute, SLU won the ball and Genevieve Gignac got the ball to Arielle Kabangu on the left side of the box. Kabangnu took a touch around an Eagle defender before releasing a shot that went across the goal and into the far side netting to put the Lions up 1-0 at the half.
 
The Eagles continued to work to find the equalizer and just over 20 minutes into the second half, they got the chance they were looking for. In the 67th minute, Ebbs was brought down amidst a scramble in the 18-yard box. She stepped up to the penalty spot and buried her second penalty kick of the season to draw the Eagles level at 1-1.
 
Another 23 minutes of regulation was not enough to determine a winner and for the third straight game, the Eagles found themselves looking for a game-winning goal in overtime.
 
At the 93:31 mark, the Eagles earned their fourth corner kick of the evening. Ebbs took the set piece and sent the ball into the box where it bounced off a couple of players before falling to Froshaug at the top of the box. Froshaug's initial shot was blocked, but the deflection fell to Haaranen who touched it to Helena Hansson who, in turn, tucked into her first goal of the year to give the Blue and Gold the win.
"At the end, we knew it was going to take some extra effort to make the difference," Bohon said. "Isabelle got a touch on the ball that knocked it to Helena for a great game-winner!  It was a very gratifying win against a scrappy St Leo group."
 
The Eagles' next game will be at the ERAU Soccer Stadium at 7 p.m. on Oct. 21.