ST. LEO, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle women's soccer team notched its first Sunshine State Conference victory on Saturday, downing defending league champion Saint Leo 3-0 at the Lions' University Soccer Field. The win puts the Eagles at 3-1 overall and 1-0 in conference play, while the Lions fall to 1-2 and 0-1 in the SSC.
 
The Eagles were dominant throughout the game, outshooting the Lions 13-6. Nine of those ERAU shots were on frame, while the Eagles allowed just two Lions shots on goal, both of which were stopped by Fanny Kristiansson who went the distance in the Eagle nets.
 
The Eagles proved to be the aggressor from the first whistle, getting off three shots to just one by the Lions in the first five minutes of play. The Blue and Gold capitalized on their fourth opportunity at the 5:47 mark when Ragnheidur Gardarsdottir collected the ball at the top of the box and slipped a shot past diving goalkeeper Julia Ortiz for her first goal of the season and a 1-0 Eagle lead.
 
ERAU was unable to connect on any of its seven other shots in the first half and took a one-goal lead into the halftime break.
 
The first 10 minutes were key once again for the Blue and Gold in the second half as the Eagles' second score came just seven minutes into the frame. The ball downfield to Maria Schmiedhofer and the sophomore drilled her third goal of the year into the lower left corner to extend the Eagle lead to 2-0.
 
The Eagles' third goal came just over eight minutes later when a cross from the left side found an unmarked Emmie Johansson inside the box and Johansson, seeing her first action of the season, made good from point blank range to seal the 3-0 victory.
 
"Games like tonight's game are always a little tricky," ERAU Head Coach Samantha Bohon said. "We've had a major disruption with Hurricane Irma and everyone is trying to get back into a routine. I know Mario [Rincon] and I both talked about some of the challenges associated with the break. His side worked hard tonight, so anytime we can manage to keep a clean sheet in league play is a good night for us!  We're excited to continue getting some of our players back and really see what this group can do!  We know we have a tough test against a strong Nova team, so we'll rest up and prepare for our home opener."

The Eagles will play their first home game of the season when they host Nova Southeastern at the Embry-Riddle Soccer Stadium. Kick-off is slated for 7 p.m.