MELBOURNE, Fla. – After a 10-day layoff, the Embry-Riddle women's soccer team (3-2, 1-0) returned to its regular season slate against Florida Tech on Wednesday. The Eagles picked up where they left off as they dispatched the Panthers 4-0 on the road to earn their first Sunshine State Conference win of the season and their second win in as many games. 

A potent and balanced offense got the Eagles the result in Wednesday's game as seven different players contributed to the four goals. In addition, ERAU dominated the Panthers 21-7 in shots, including a 7-3 advantage in shots on frame.

The Eagles got on the board in the ninth minute after Isabelle Navren won the ball in the right corner of the field. The freshman delivered a low cross into the box to Ragnheidur Gardarsdottir whose first-touch strike went into the upper left corner to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead.

Another low cross from the right side of the pitch led to ERAU's second goal of the night. The play started in the Eagles' defensive half of the field when Mikayla Szalay lifted a ball into space toward the Eagles' front line. Marie Myhrvold Seim chased the ball down into the right corner and sent a cross into the box where Rita Okoro managed to slip a touch past Panther goalkeeper Maria Recuero to extend the Eagle lead to 2-0 at the half.

The second period started much the same way as the first as the Eagles scored another goal nine minutes into the frame. A Florida Tech foul in front of the Eagle bench on the left side led to an Anita Agustsdottir free kick and the junior found Savana Sheahan who headed home her second goal of the year to make it 3-0 ERAU.

With 13 minutes left to play, Saba Amiri entered the game. Three minutes later, she made her presence known. After receiving a pass from Allie McMandon, she completed a give-and-go with Eva Jonsdottir and dribbled at the goalkeeper before putting a shot on frame. Recuero was able to stop the initial attempt, but Amiri jumped on the rebound and capitalized on an open net to give the Eagles the four-goal cushion.

Dana Ruchti's last trip to Florida Tech in 2017 resulted in a shutout for the ERAU goalkeeper and she repeated that performance on Wednesday, picking up her second clean sheet of the season with three saves in the win.

"We challenged our team to start conference play with a special level of intensity and competitiveness," ERAU Head Coach Samantha Bohon commented. "We know this league is tough and you can't take a night (or half) off. Jessica [Monarch] and this Florida Tech team have some talent, so we needed to keep scoring to make sure we didn't let them back in it. Overall, we are always happy to earn a clean sheet defensively and put four goals in the back of the net in our conference opener. I thought there were some really good moments for us but still some things we need to clean up a bit. We've got good versatility this year and you can see we're able to go deeper in our lineup than before. Now, we look to Saturday's match-up vs Tampa as a huge game for us. We need to bring it!"

The Eagles return to the friendly confines of the ERAU Soccer Stadium on Saturday to host Tampa. Game time is slated for 6 p.m.