ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle women's soccer team made history on Friday, notching Embry-Riddle Athletics' first win as a member of NCAA Division II. The Eagles were dominant in their 5-0 defeat of Spring Hill in the opening game of the Flagler Invitational, with five different players scoring in the program's first win of the season.
 
"First, I'd like to give credit to Whit and her team as they worked hard throughout the game," ERAU Head Coach Samantha Bohon said. "We knew we had a chance to make history tonight with the first-ever win for any Embry-Riddle team as official DII members. This is a win for our entire University and athletic department as it's a reflection of years of hard work and planning to put our programs in a position to be successful in this new conference and division. We'll be excited to watch the rest of our teams compete this season."
 
The Eagles put their stamp on the game early, scoring in the second minute of the game. The play began with a throw-in on the right side and ended with an Elvira Ramel shot finding the back of the net.
 
Less than three minutes later, Hanna Rolfsen played a ball out of the back to Megan Smith who raced down the right side before whipping a cross into the box that was finished by Guro Naess Berge to make the score 2-0.
 
In the 23^rd minute, Elizabeth Allen hit a shot at SHC goalkeeper HP Fluharty. Fluharty managed to stop the shot, but Maria Schmeidhofer was on hand to tuck the rebound into the lower right corner, giving the Blue and Gold a 3-0 cushion at the half.
 
Ten minutes into the second half, Rachel Owens swung a cross into the box and freshman Mikayla Szalay volleyed home the first goal of her collegiate career to extend the lead to 4-0.
 
The final goal of the night came with nine minutes remaining in the contest. Once again, the play started with Smith. Her cross toward the center of the pitch skipped off Schmeidhofer and fell to Allen who drilled a shot from about 25 yards out into the upper right corner to seal the 5-0 win.
 
"You could tell this was a season-opener for us," Bohon observed "We have a great group this year and now it's about getting them to link up together and understand what we're trying to do. It's always nice to score goals and keep a clean sheet defensively, so that's a good result for our team. We were especially excited to see so many goals come from our midfield.
 
"Tomorrow will be important for us to recover as we expect a tough game against a talented Flagler team. But this was a good overall team win for us on a special night for Embry-Riddle."
 
The Eagles will take on Flagler in the final game of the Flagler Invitational at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday at Saints Field.