Goalkeeper Matilda Ojaniemi Celebrates Win Over Embry-Riddle
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The No. 22 Northwood University women’s soccer team upset No.4 Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, 2-1, in their Sun Conference opener at Arrigo Field Friday.
The Lady Seahawks took an early lead, capitalizing on a mistake by the Eagles. Northwood junior forward Taryn Pardoe (Southampton, England) passed the ball to the right side of the box to junior forward Helen Lynskey (Rotherham, UK), who appeared to fire a cross into the box, but her shot deflected of an Eagle defender and past ERAU senior goalie Lauren Gallant (Mansfield, Texas), giving the Lady Seahawks a 1-0 lead in the third minute of play. The Eagles evened the score in the 17
th minute, when junior forward Valeria Obita (Gothenburg, Sweden) took a lead pass from senior forward Ange Durston-Ryan (Melbourne, Australia) up the right side of the box, beat her defender and fired a shot above the outstretched reach of Northwood junior goalkeeper Matilda Ojaniemi (Kalmar, Sweden), tying the score at 1-1. Seven minutes later, Lynskey delivered a back-breaking goal to the Eagles, picking up a loose ball in front of the net and finishing past Gallant, handing the Lady Seahawks a 2-1 lead going into halftime.
The teams battled back-and-forth in the second half, but the Northwood defense held strong and limited the scoring chances of Embry-Riddle. Obita has an opportunity to tie the game late in the second half, but her shot rang of the post. Ojaniemi made some key saves for the Lady Seahawks, including one in the final minute as a frantic crowd of players tried to get to a loose ball in front of the net, but Ojaniemi made the stop, preserving the 2-1 victory for Northwood University.
The Seahawks outshot the Eagles, 13-12, during the contest. Ojaniemi made three saves for the Lady Seahawks, while Gallant stopped four shots for Embry-Riddle.
The Seahawks improved to 5-3 on the season, and 1-0 in the Sun Conference with the win, while Embry-Riddle dropped to 5-4, and 0-1. Northwood will host Thomas University on Sunday. Embry-Riddle will travel to Johnson & Wales University Sunday.
NORTHWOOD SOCCER