DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – A pair of first-half goals were not enough for the Embry-Riddle women's soccer team to get by Columbus State as the Eagles (0-1) fell to the fourth-ranked Cougars 4-2, Saturday at the Embry-Riddle Soccer Stadium. The game was the season opener for both teams and was the second game in the Embry-Riddle Invitational which was delayed two days due to Hurricane Dorian.
 
Saturday's game got off to a frenetic start with four goals coming within the first seven minutes of action. Both sides were level through the first 18 minutes, but CSU managed to pull ahead with a goal at the 19-minute mark and sealed the win with another score midway through the second half tom move to 1-0 on the year.
 
"I've got to open by giving Jay [Entlich] and his staff credit," ERAU Head Coach Samantha Bohon said. "You would think I would have learned my lesson to keep scheduling them as our opener. They're an organized, effective group and offer some different looks that we don't always see in a season. I actually felt like we had a good game plan and our players knew what to expect tonight. The first 10 minutes of the game were crazy! One team threw a punch and the other responded immediately. I can't say we expected that kind of start from either team. After that, both teams tried to settle in a bit. Truthfully, I never felt like we really established our rhythm for long stretches, but they certainly had something to do with that. 
 
The Eagles got the ball into the box and created a few chances early, but at the 2:26 mark, Riley Clark ran on to a poor pass between two Eagle defenders and netted the game's first goal.
 
Less than two minutes later, Sophie Brundin won a ball in the midfield and played it forward to Rita Okoro on the run. The senior transfer split two defenders and beat Briana Riancho with a strike into the far side netting for her first goal in the Eagle uniform, tying the score at 1-1
 
Moments later the Cougars struck again when Maddy Peterson settled a bouncing ball off a corner kick and put the visitors up 2-1 with her second goal of the game at the 6:24 mark. 
 
The lead was short-lived, however. On the ensuing Eagle kick-off, Marie Myhrvold Seim whipped a cross in from the right side of the box that was tapped home by Okoro to knot things up at 2-2, just 18 seconds after Peterson's score.
 
Over the next 13 minutes, Columbus State created more scoring chances and at 19:00 Peterson struck again to give the Cougars a 3-2 lead at the half.
 
ERAU struggled to find a rhythm in the second half and managed just three shots compared six in the first 45 minutes. The Cougars bested the Eagles 14-9 in shots, including an 8-3 advantage in shots on frame in the contest. In the 65^thminute, a strong individual effort by Kimmy May converted one of those shots into a goal that capped the scoring for the Cougars.
 
"I love our group. I was pretty pleased with our team's fitness considering the week we had and our limited preseason. I think we are eager to learn and develop and this game offers an invaluable opportunity to do so. Now, we have to be professionals and recover for a quick turnaround against a good Queens team."
 
The Eagles close out tournament play at 10 a.m. on Monday against Queens University of Charlotte, who upended No. 20 Barry in Saturday's tournament opener.