DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – A pair of goals by
Ragnheidur Gardarsdottir and a strong performance in goal by
Dana Ruchti propelled the Embry-Riddle women's soccer team to the semifinal round of the 2019 Sunshine State Conference tournament. Playing in their second straight conference tournament quarterfinal on Monday, the Eagles drew Tampa as their opponent for the second year in a row, and once again, the Blue and Gold emerged victorious, topping the Spartans 2-0 at the Embry-Riddle Soccer Stadium.
Now 9-5-1 overall, the Eagles will travel to Miami Shores on Thursday to face top-seeded Barry for the second time this year and the second consecutive time in a conference semifinal.
"Tampa is always a tough team to play, so we knew we needed to play well tonight," ERAU Head Coach
Samantha Bohon noted. "I'm not sure if that's a record for quickest goal but it certainly started us off on the right foot. It was nice to finally be healthy and really go after it. Ragnheidur was fresh tonight and Dana made the big saves when we needed them. I was also really pleased with how we finished the game. We still created really good chances late and stayed composed. Truly, it was a solid collective effort all over the pitch and creates some positive momentum as we head down to face a strong Barry team."
After going scoreless in the last two contests, the Eagles wasted no time in getting on the scoreboard in Monday's game scoring immediately after kick-off. It took just 11 seconds for the play to develop as ERAU got the ball to Gardarsdottir in the Spartans' defensive third. Gardarsdottir took on two Tampa defenders before slotting the ball past Spartan goalkeeper Lovisa Camel for the fastest goal in ERAU Women's Soccer history.
Following the goal the Eagles continued to press the Tampa defense registering three shots and three corner kicks in the first 20 minutes of play. The Spartans managed to withstand the pressure and eventually began creating chances of their own.
With 7:44 left in the first half, it appeared the Spartans had gotten the break they were looking for as the ball went into the back of the Eagle net. However, the Tampa player was ruled to have fouled Ruchti in the process of taking the shot and the goal was disallowed, allowing the Eagles to take the one-goal edge into a rain-soaked halftime break.
The rain that sent fans searching for cover at halftime did nothing to dampen the Spartan spirits as they came out firing to start the second half. But Ruchti was up to the challenge, turning back four shots, including two from point-blank range within the first six minutes of the frame.
Both teams continued to create chances over the next 17 minutes, but more solid play by Ruchti in the Eagle nets and key saves by Camel, who got some help from the post, kept the score at 1-0 in favor of ERAU.
In the 69
thminute, Tampa was dispossessed just outside the 18-yard box by
Sophie Brundin. Gardarsdottir ran on to Brundin's clearance and took the ball about 50 yards down the field before out-maneuvering her defender and slotting a strike into the lower left corner to double the Eagle lead, 2-0.
Despite the deficit, the Spartans continued to look for a goal, but in the 71
stminute they were thwarted by Ruchti again as the junior came off her line to stop one point-blank shot and then quickly hopped up to smother the rebound attempt to preserve the shutout.
Ruchti finished with eight saves en route to her fifth shutout of the season.
Camel collected six saves for the Spartans who ended their season with the loss at 5-9-1.
