VALDOSTA, Ga. – A goal in each half of play lifted the Embry-Riddle women's soccer team to a 2-0 victory over Valdosta State, Thursday at the VSU Soccer Complex. The Eagles have played three games in Georgia and have won all three to post a 3-0 overall record to start the season.
"I would like to congratulate Rebecca [Nolin]," Sam said of the Blazers' head coach. "She has a new group of players and that's hard at the beginning of the season to try and get everyone organized. I thought she did a great job, even in the game, of teaching, and I think their program is going to do more than fine with her at the helm.
"We had glimpses tonight where we were really good and then we fell off a little bit at times, but I was really happy overall with the effort again, especially with our limitations due to injury. I thought everybody contributed very well tonight. We had good movement and speed of play that created a lot of chances for us tonight."
The Blazers won the kick-off and kept the ball for the first few minutes of the game, but the Eagles forced a turnover and used clinical passing to dominate the possession for the remainder of the half.
At the 12:33 mark,
Hanna Rolfsen delivered a perfectly weighted ball from inside the Eagle half of the field, over the top of the Blazer defense to
Andrea Froshaug. Froshaug eluded one defender and dribbled around the keeper before depositing the ball in the back of the net to give the Blue and Gold a 1-0 lead.
The Eagles kept the pressure on and had several near misses in front of the goal.
Katherine Ebbs had great chance for the Eagles late in the first period as she used deft footwork to create space for a shot inside the box, but VSU goalkeeper McCall Gardner came up with an equally good save to deny Ebbs and limit the Eagle scoring to just one goal in the half.
The second half saw the Eagles continue to pressure the Blazer defense. With just over 19 minutes remaining in the contest, Froshaug made one of her many dangerous runs through the heart of the defense and for the second time in as many games, the senior was fouled inside the opposing team's 18-yard box. Khyla Brangman buried the resulting penalty kick for her first goal of the season to extend the Eagle lead.
The Blazers, who recorded all three of their shots in the second half of play, had their best chance of the evening with 11 minutes left, when a scramble in the box led to a Jade Reynolds shot from point black range, but ERAU goalkeeper
Olivia Lynch was quick to get an instinctive save to preserve the Eagle shutout.
"We're excited to come up here and get the result," Bohon continued. "I really want to credit our team defense during these first three games of the season. Obviously our backs and Olivia play a big role in that, but our team defense has been really good this season to not allow a goal. And, tonight, we put together some great stretches offensively to match our defensive execution."
The Eagles will play their first home game of the season at 7 p.m. on Sunday when Stetson comes to the Embry-Riddle Soccer Stadium.
"What we have coming next week is an absolutely brutal stretch for us and we're going to need every player and every ounce of energy, starting with the Stetson game on Sunday," Bohon commented. "That's always a really hard game for us. We're excited to get the win and continue to learn in these games and are ready for a hard battle against Stetson."
