ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – In a tough battle against the No. 2 Embry-Riddle Eagles, the Triton women's soccer team came away with a point from a 1-1 draw on Johnson Field Saturday night.
The first 45 minutes were rather uneventful as there were only a handful of free kicks and three corner kicks for both teams. Zoe Brasher stopped four shots in the first half.
The Tritons opened the second frame with a pair of shots by Kaia Senecal and Hajar Benjoud that were just shy of the net. Benjoud kept the offensive pressure, firing off a bottom-left shot in the 56th minute that was stopped by Eagles' goalkeeper Oona Jokinen. Jokinen could not contain the Tritons or Benjoud much longer. An Embry-Riddle foul by Julia Adeback awarded Aisling Spillane a free kick. Spillane sent the free kick into the box, where Benjoud headed the ball to the top left corner to give the Tritons the 1-0 favor.
A comfortable lead for Eckerd was neutralized by a late goal from Adriana Ordonez Lizarraga as she put one past Brasher to knot the game up at one. The Tritons drew three corner kicks in the final two minutes but were unable to regain their lead, ending the game with a draw.
HOW IT ENDED
FINAL: Eckerd 1, Embry-Riddle 1
RECORDS: Eckerd 4-3-1 (1-2-1 SSC), No. 2 Embry-Riddle 7-0-2 (2-0-2 SSC)
SCORING SUMMARY: EC - 58' Benjoud (Spillane); ERAU – 85' Ordonez Lizarraga (Myhrvold Seim)
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- The Tritons tallied eight shots, three of which were on goal.
- Brasher recorded a career-high eight saves.
- Benjoud led the team with three shots, with two falling on goal.
- EC had three corner kicks in the final two minutes.
- Six Tritons played the full 90 minutes: Brasher, Spillane, Annie Stook, Abby Ripple, Andi Wells, and Krystal Torres.
QUOTABLE
"I am so proud of our ladies tonight. We had to battle until the very end against a very good and highly ranked team," stated interim head coach Luke Sheekey '10. "At times, we played some really good soccer and created some good goal-scoring opportunities, and at times we had to frustrate them with our discipline defensively and battle for every ball. It was a very well-earned point."
UP NEXT
Eckerd is slated to host Palm Beach Atlantic next Saturday at 6:00 PM on Johnson Field.
