WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The 16th-ranked Embry-Riddle women's soccer team wrapped up its regular season slate with a 2-0 road win over Palm Beach Atlantic (1-9-4, 0-8-2), Tuesday at the Rinker Athletics Complex. With the win, the Eagles (12-1-3, 8-1-1), secured a share of the 2023 Sunshine State Conference regular season title and will host a semifinal game in the conference tournament on Nov. 9.
For the second straight game, the Eagles dominated on both sides of the pitch. The Eagles bested the Sailfish 28-6 in shots, 10-3 in shots on goal and 10-7 in corner kicks on the way to their sixth shutout of the season.
Isabelle Navren, who celebrated her birthday on Tuesday, got the first shot on goal for the Eagles at the 11:48 mark, but Sammy Peebles was able to come up with the save. At the 24:11 mark
Ria Vlachos entered the game and made an immediate impact, testing Peebles with a with a shot from inside the box. Moments later, Vlachos jumped on a PBA free kick and got the ball to Navren running down the right flank. Navren took a couple of touches before rifling a shot into the opposite side netting to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead.
After a handful of near misses in the to start the second half, the Eagles doubled their lead with 25 minutes left to play.
Berglind Thrastardottir took the Eagles' ninth corner kick of the night and her ball to the near post was met by
Hattie Kettle who, for the second time in as many games, scored on a header to put the Eagles up 2-0.
Following the Eagles' second goal, the Sailfish began to push numbers forward but their efforts were thwarted by the Eagle defense, which included two saves from ERAU goalkeeper
Oona Jokinen.
Jokinen finished with three saves to earn her sixth clean sheet of the year, while Peebles totaled eight saves in the Sailfish effort.
Embry-Riddle tied with Florida Tech for the regular season title, which is the second regular season title for the Eagles in three seasons. Florida Tech won the tiebreaker and will be the No. 1 seed in the six-team tournament. As the No. 2 seed, the Eagles will receive a first-round bye and will host the winner of Monday's quarterfinal game between No. 3 Nova Southeastern and No. 6 Florida Southern.
The 2023 Embry-Riddle women' soccer season is presented by Radiology Associates.
