DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – A lone score in the second half of play was all the Embry-Riddle Women's Soccer team needed to get by Eckerd (4-3-1, 1-3) in Sunshine State Conference play on Wednesday. The 1-0 victory lifted the Blue and Gold to 5-3 overall and into second place in the SSC standings with a 3-1 league mark.
A fairly even first half saw the Eagles edge the Tritons 6-5 in shots and 4-2 in shots on goal. The Eagles best chances came within a four-minute stretch that saw the Blue and Gold force Eckerd goalkeeper Winn Casey to come up with three saves.
Although the Eagles bested the Tritons is shots (8-4) in the second period, it was the visiting team that had the advantage in shots on frame, but ERAU netminder
Fanny Kristiansson kept Eckerd off the board, turning back all three of their shots on goal.
In the 71st minute, the Eagle defense gave up a corner kick to Eckerd. After the set piece bounced off a pair of Triton players,
Sophie Brundin's clearance made its way to
Julia Olsson who started the counterattack. Olsson passed to
Maria Schmiedhofer in the midfield and she spun and completed a pass to
Annie Gelnaw racing down the right side. Gelnaw dribbled into the box and her quick cross found its way to Gardarsdottir who played the ball off her chest and into the net to put the Eagles up 1-0.
The teams combined for five shots in the final 19 minutes of play, but neither side was able to convert resulting in the 1-0 final score.
"First, I'd like to credit Danielle [Foutopolous] and her team," ERAU Head Coach
Samantha Bohon said. "I really like the group she has this year, so we were really pleased to get the win tonight.
"I thought we did a good job of moving the ball and playing quickly in the first half, but we didn't cause enough problems in the final third. We changed a few things at halftime and were happy to see us be more dangerous in the second half. I thought Annie and Saba [Amiri] were really creative and dangerous most of the night. Any win we get in the SSC is important and tonight was no different. We know we have an exciting challenge ahead with a great Barry team, so this was a good way to head into that match-up."
Next for the Eagles is a road trip to Miami to take on ninth-ranked Barry. That game is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Sept. 29.
