DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – A goal in the first half and a pair of scores in the second lifted the 15^th-ranked Embry-Riddle women's soccer team to a 3-0 defeat of Eckerd, Saturday at the ERAU Soccer Stadium. The victory marked the Eagles' sixth shutout of the season and improved their overall record to 5-1-1, while the Tritons evened their record at 5-5.
 
"First, I want to give credit to Danielle [Fotopoulos] and the Eckerd team," ERAU Head Coach Samantha Bohon said. "They have some players that can really hurt you, so we felt we had to keep a 90-minute focus to get the result."
 
Embry-Riddle had the better of the possession in the first 15 minutes of the contest, but the momentum shifted to the other side of the field where the Tritons registered six shots and three corner kicks before the Eagles managed to get their first shot of the game in the 23^rd minute.
 
Although it came late, the Eagles' first shot was effective as it led to their first goal of the evening. The play started when, after the Eagle defense cleared the ball out of danger, it made its way down the field and got to Maria Schmiedhofer in the box. Schmiedhofer's shot was blocked by an Eckerd defender, but Isabelle Haaranen was on hand to collect the rebound and buried her second goal of the season to give the Blue and Gold a 1-0 lead at the half.
 
Less than nine minutes into the second half, Schmiedhofer got a goal of her own. The Tritons were able to get the ball over the halfway line after Eckerd goalkeeper Casey Winn managed to smother Andrea Froshaug's close-range shot. The Eagle defense collected the ball and got it back to Schmiedhofer who executed a give-and-go with Froshaug. Schmiedhofer continued her run into the six-yard box and Froshaug played a perfect pass through to the freshman whose shot went across the face of the goal and into the side netting to extend the Eagle lead to 2-0.
 
In the 58^th minute, Froshaug hit a driven ball toward the top left corner of the goal that required Winn to make an acrobatic save. Rachel Owens took the resulting corner kick and her low cross went through a few players to Haaranen. Haaranen deftly flicked the ball behind her to Sophie Brundin who capped the Eagles' scoring with her second goal of the season.
 
Goalkeeper Fanny Kristiansson was a major factor for the Eagles once again as her three saves, all of which came in the first half, helped the Eagles stay in the game when the Tritons had the momentum.
 
"I'm pleased to see how our team responded after we challenged them this week," Bohon continued. "It was fantastic to see more connection and linking between each of the lines. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention how pleased I am that we've managed to earn six shutouts in our first seven games. Tonight, we were able to add a more dangerous attack to the defensive effort.
 
"Now, we get to take advantage of a bye on Wednesday and decompress for an extra day this weekend before gearing up for the second half of the season."
 
The Eagles will return to the pitch on Oct. 1 when they travel west to take on Tampa at 7 p.m.