DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle women's soccer team improved its overall record to 3-0 with a 1-0 victory over Georgia Gwinnett in a sweltering midmorning game on Sunday. Sunday marked the final day of the fifth edition of the Habitat for Humanity Invitational hosted by the Eagles at the Embry-Riddle Soccer Stadium.
The score line was not indicative of the contest as the Eagles dominated the Grizzlies from the first whistle. ERAU kept the Grizzlies pinned in their defensive half of the field for the majority of the contest and controlled possession of the ball for almost the entire 90 minutes of play.
After several dangerous crosses into the box, the Eagles finally netted what turned out to be the game's only goal in the 14th minute. Playing in the middle of the pitch,
Maria Schmiedhofer found
Megan Smith running down the right side. Smith took the ball deep into the corner before driving a low cross into the box. The ball fell to an unmarked
Isabelle Haaranen who scored her first goal of the year from point blank range to put the Blue and Gold up 1-0.
Although the Eagles bested the Grizzlies 11-0 in shots in the first half, the Eagles were unable to find the back of the net again, and went into the intermission with the one goal lead.
The second half featured much of the same as the Eagles kept the Grizzlies on their heels as they looked to add to their tally. But the GGC strategy of packing the box proved effective, as they were able to thwart the Eagles' attacks, resulting in the 1-0 final.
"First, credit goes to Chris and his team," ERAU Head Coach
Samantha Bohon said. "They worked extremely hard to defend and make things difficult for us. It was a great learning opportunity for our team early in the season. I thought we worked hard and created some quality chances that have to finish in the back of the net. Of course, I would have liked to have distanced ourselves more in that game, but I'm happy that we got our third straight shutout and didn't allow any shots on goal."
Courtney McKenzie was impressive in goal for the Grizzlies, finishing with five saves and cutting off several dangerous Eagle crosses as GGC fell to 4-3 with the loss.
The Eagles open their Sunshine State conference slate on Wednesday when they host Rollins at 7 p.m. at the ERAU Soccer Stadium.
"We now hit our demanding conference schedule and face tough opponents right out of the gate with nationally ranked Rollins and Barry this week," Bohon continued. "We'll need to continue to build on these experiences to have a chance for success against them."
