WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle women's soccer team notched a big win on Wednesday in a battle between two NCAA II Top 25 teams. Playing on the road, the 22nd-ranked Eagles scored a goal in each half to upend 16th-ranked Palm Beach Atlantic in Sunshine State Conference action.
ERAU is now 6-3-2 overall and their 4-2-1 league record puts them in the fourth spot in the conference standings. Palm Beach Atlantic moves to 8-3 overall and 5-2 in the SSC with the loss.
Evenly matched on the stat sheet, each team tallied eight total shots and six shots on goal, but while the Sailfish kept the Eagle defense on its heels with a 5-1 shot advantage in the first half, it was ERAU that finished strong, besting the hosts 7-3 in shots in the final 45 minutes of play.
ERAU's
Oona Jokinen and PBA's Rachel Neumann went the distance in goal for their respective teams, with Jokinen hauling in five saves and Neumann managing four stops.
The Eagles got on the board first in the 36th minute courtesy of
Sofia Munthe Nilsson's third goal of the season. Munthe Nilsson was the recipient of
Hattie Kettle's throw-in on the left side of the pitch, and following a quick turn, the sophomore took a few touches to move up the field before finding
Marianna Pezzella at the top of the box. Munthe Nilsson continued her run and was rewarded when Pezzella returned the pass on the give-and-go. An unmarked Nilsson slotted the ball past Neumann into the lower right corner of the net to put the Eagles up 1-0.
The Blue and Gold's celebration didn't last long, however, as Michaela Boyd scored the equalizer less than a minute later to knot the score at 1-1 going into the halftime break.
The Eagles registered three of the first four shots of the second half and their efforts finally paid off in the 60th minute. Jokinen started the play out of the back, completing a pass to
Anita Agustsdottir who played a ball over the top of the Sailfish defense out to
Isabelle Navren on the right. Navren dribbled a few yards down the field before rifling a shot into the left side netting to give ERAU a 2-1 advantage.
The remainder of the contest saw ERAU pressure the Sailfish goal, but Neumann was able to save all three shots on frame. Jokinen recorded three saves of her own in the half, including a shot in the 89th minute that seemed destined for the lower left corner, but Jokinen's diving stop kept PBAU off the board and helped preserve the win for the Eagles.
"First, I'd like to give credit to Chris and his PBA team," Embry-Riddle head coach
Samantha Bohon stated. "They work incredibly hard and make you earn everything. I was really pleased tonight to see players coming off the bench and impacting the game in a positive way. Marianna had a crucial assist and played some big minutes for us. I thought we scored two really good goals in the run of play tonight. Bella's strike was first class with an equally impressive assist from Anita. Sofia caused problems all evening and was justly rewarded with a goal in the first half. This was a good win for us on the road against a tough team, so we'll enjoy it and get ready for Saturday's matchup vs Lynn. One game at a time!"
The Eagles will play their final home game of the regular season at 6 p.m. on Saturday when they host Lynn at the ERAU Soccer Stadium.
The Embry-RIddle women's soccer season is presented by Radiology.
