SAVANNAH, Ga. – The Embry-Riddle women's soccer team announced its presence in NCAA Division II with a 2-0 record in the season-opening Armstrong Pirate Shootout. The Eagles wrapped up tournament play by defeating host Armstrong State 1-0, Sunday at the Armstrong Soccer Field.
 
""First of all I want to thank Eric [Faulconer] and the Armstrong group for hosting this tournament," ERAU Head Coach Samantha Bohon said. "It was a good tournament for us and we knew from the very beginning when we scheduled Armstrong State that they were going to be a really well organized. Eric does a really good job with them every year and he has built them to be one of the top programs in our region year in and year out and that's hard to do.
 
"Naturally, we're very excited to come away from this weekend 2-0. We're still trying to feel our way through the Division II transition. We're not fully sure of what to expect and we knew this was going to be a tough game for our girls. We challenged them to commit physically because Armstrong State is a really strong physical team, so one of our big focuses was could we match their physicality. I was really happy with our group. With injuries we had to shuffle things around and to be able to still find a way to get a result against a good team with some of the limitations we had was really exciting."
 
Once again, the weather impacted the game as the threat of afternoon storms prompted officials to move the start time up an hour to 10 a.m. Additionally, the Eagles had to weather a 30-minute lightning delay with just 3:29 left in the contest.
 
The Pirates threatened early, recording a pair of corner kicks within the first minute of the game, but the Eagle defense thwarted any chances from the set pieces. The home team also outshot the Eagles 8-3 in the first half, but neither team could register a score, resulting in a scoreless tie at the break.
 
The Eagles continued to play their possession game in the second frame and came very close to ending the scoring drought 12 minutes into the half. Janina Helwig was brought down about five yards outside the penalty area. Katherine Ebbs took the free kick and sent the ball toward the upper 90, but a fingertip save by ASU goalkeeper Morgan Luckie kept the Eagles off the scoreboard.
 
Another foul in the 83rd minute led to the game's only goal. The Eagles started the play out of the back and got the ball to Johanna Karlsson in the midfield. Karlsson's first touch found Ebbs on the right side and Ebbs' first touch released Andrea Froshaug. Froshaug out-paced her defender who, in an attempt to break up the play, fouled the Eagle forward inside the penalty area.
 
Once again, Ebbs was called on to take the set piece and she easily converted from the penalty spot to give the Blue and Gold the 1-0 lead.
 
The Eagles had a chance to add to their tally less than two minutes later when Khyla Brangman sprung Froshaug once again, but Froshaug's attempt missed the mark to keep the score at 1-0.
 
With 3:29 left to play, the Pirates were awarded a corner kick, but right before they were able to set up their offense, officials suspended play due to lightning. Following a 30-minute delay, the Eagles returned to the pitch and withstood a late ASU surge to come away with the shutout.
 
"We had the most stressful three minutes and 29 seconds of the season so far with the lightning break," Bohon said. "But it was a great opportunity and a great test for our players to be put in a situation that they might be faced with later on in the year. We're really, really excited to come away with wins in both games."
 
The Eagles will be back in action at 7 p.m. on Thursday when they make another trip to Georgia to take on Valdosta State.