DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle men's soccer team's battled the NAIA No. 11 Thomas Night Hawks in a torrential downpour for most of Saturday evening's contest. A former conference rival of the Blue and Gold, Thomas and the Eagles met last season when the Night Hawks came out on top 2-1. TU again bested the Eagles in Saturday's game, this time by a score of 1-0.
 
With the loss, ERAU goes to 1-1 on the year, while Thomas improves to 5-0.
 
"Well it was a game of two halves for us I think," said Head Coach David Gregson. "We knew Thomas was good team coming in. I think in the first half we gave them a little bit too much respect, but we defended very well and the guys worked very hard. I thought we were really good in the second half. Obviously it's always disappointing when we lose a game, but the manner in which we got after them in the second half when they're five games into the season and we're not bodes well. Defensively were very good and our collective work as a team is outstanding at the moment. We just haven't clicked yet going forward."

The first 20 minutes of the match didn't feature much offense as neither team could get past each other's back lines. Both sides attempted just one shot until the 25^th minute.
 
Thomas snuck in a goal following a shot from Connor Stanley that was blocked. Night Hawk, Eric Persson, found the ball at his feet and broke away from the Eagle defenders during what appeared to be a bit of a miscommunication along the back line. He slotted the ball into the lower right corner past a diving Jeff Bone to give Thomas the lead.
 
Just before half, the Eagles found their first and only shot on goal from Tobias Gerber.
 
In the second half, the Eagles came out with a faster pace following several substitutions in the lineup. With 35 minutes to go in the game, the Eagles got dangerously close to scoring as they held the ball inside the box and had it bounce around to several different players. However, the Blue and Gold couldn't manage to get a shot off.
 
Despite having the ball in Night Hawk territory, the Eagles could not string together the passes they needed to get the equalizer, as the Night Hawks weathered the storm to win.
 
The Blue and Gold returns to action on Saturday, Sept. 19 when the team travels to Miami Shores, Fla. for its first Sunshine State Conference game against Barry. Kick off is slated for 7 p.m.
 
"We've got a whole week to do some stuff in training to get ready for our first Sunshine State Conference team in Barry," Gregson said. "We're looking forward to getting back to work on Monday morning, putting this result behind us, learning from the game tonight and putting things right next week."