LAKELAND, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle women's soccer team notched its third consecutive win on Wednesday, downing Florida Southern 1-0 on the road in Sunshine State Conference play. With the win the Eagles vault to the top of the league standings at 6-2-1 for 19 points to go with their 8-3-2 overall record.
In a game that was not as close as the score suggests, the Eagles dominated the Lady Moccasins on both sides of the pitch, forcing the Lady Mocs to defend for most of the contest. ERAU unleashed a barrage of 16 shots, while the Eagle defense allowed just two FSC looks at the goal. In addition, the Eagles held a 9-0 advantage in corner kicks.
The Eagles were on the front foot from the first whistle earning a corner kick within the first 20 seconds of action. That corner kick was the first of seven in the half for a Blue and Gold side that bested the Lady Mocs 8-1 in shots and 7-0 in corner kicks in the first 45 minutes. It was one of those set pieces that led to ERAU's only score of the night.
After threatening the Lady Mocs goal with a header attempt in the opening minutes of the first half,
Hattie Kettle converted on her second look in the 13th minute. The Eagles won a corner kick which was taken by
Isabelle Navren. Navren's kick took a short hop in front of Kettle on the far side and the freshman struck a half volley past FSC goalie Jenny Staten to net her second game-winner of the season.
Staten finished with five saves for FSC in the loss as the Lady Mocs fell to 4-8-2 overall and 1-5-2 in the SSC.
"We have a lot of respect for Florida Southern as they've never been an easy game for us," ERAU Head Coach
Samantha Bohon noted. "I thought our players came in focused and motivated to get a result and performance tonight. Since our bye after Rollins, our group has come back renewed and especially determined to finish well. It was a great finish by Hattie for the goal, and a strong play to create the corner. Overall, I thought our team defense was good tonight by only allowing two shots, no corners, and another clean sheet. All in all, we are excited to collect another three points and have total focus on our final game at Nova Saturday."
The Eagles wrap up regular season play on Saturday when they travel to Nova Southeastern for a 7 p.m. kick-off.
The Embry-Riddle women's soccer season is presented by Radiology Associates.
