DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle women's soccer team battled 17th-ranked Flagler to a 2-2 draw in non-conference action on Wednesday at the ERAU Soccer Stadium. Wednesday's result snapped a two-game losing skid for the Eagles who moved to 4-3-1 on the year, while Flagler now stands at 6-1-1.
"This is another example of the epic Flagler/Embry-Riddle games," ERAU Head Coach
Samantha Bohon stated. "That was like a heavyweight fight! Both teams went all in for 110 minutes. These are the games you love to play - intense, good soccer, and end-to-end."
The Saints took a one-goal lead off the boot of Josefine Nillsen in the 23rd minute. Nillsen received a ball in behind the Eagle defense and was one-on-one with ERAU netminder
Oona Jokinen. Jokinen stopped Nillsen's initial offering but was unable to hold onto the ball and Nillsen deposited the rebound in the net to put Flagler up 1-0.
The Saints had a chance to double their lead when the Eagles were called for a foul inside the box, but Annie Habeeb's attempt from the penalty spot went wide of the mark and the score remained 1-0 in favor of Flagler at the half.
Just under 10 minutes into the second period,
Grace Foyer won the ball in the midfield and got it out to
Isabelle Navren racing down the right side of the pitch. Navren took the ball to the end line and delivered a low cross into the box where
Ragnheidur Gardarsdottir netted her third goal of the year to pull the Blue and Gold level at 1-1.
The Saints were able to grab the lead again with a goal from Habeeb in the 81
st minute, but for the second time against a ranked opponent the Eagles came up with the late equalizer, scoring at the 84:43 mark. After a Gardarsdottir shot was deflected over the end line to earn a corner kick,
Sofia Munthe Nilsson took the set piece and her cross bounced off a few players before falling to
Savanna Sheahan who tapped in her first goal of the year to send the game to overtime.
End-to-end action characterized the 20 minutes of overtime as both sides combined for just two shots. Neither chance tested the respective goalkeepers and the game ended with the tie.
"I was proud of our team's commitment to our game plan on both sides of the ball," Bohon said. "You could really see improvement in areas we worked on this week as well. It was also nice to have Ragnheidur back and she immediately impacted the team scoring the first goal off a brilliant cross by Bella. I love those blue collar goals like Savanna scored where it's just a matter of who wants it more. This team stayed composed and kept pushing late showing good fitness, so I was glad they were rewarded with the goal. This was a fun break from conference play, but we know Saturday's game is very important. We'll start preparing for a good Eckerd side tomorrow."
The Eagles will host Eckerd at the ERAU Soccer Stadium at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
The Embry-Riddle women's soccer season is presented by Radiology Associates.
