DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Women's Soccer) – Florida Tech picked up extra momentum heading into the postseason slate as the Panthers came back from a halftime deficit Saturday to defeat Sunshine State Conference provisional member Embry-Riddle 3-1 at ERAU Soccer Stadium in Daytona Beach.
Elvira Ramel ended the scoreless draw and gave the Eagles a 1-0 lead just before halftime when she knocked in a Gudrun Johnson cross past junior goalkeeper
Karlyn Prisco.
FIT trailed at the break despite a 7-4 edge in shots and a 3-1 disparity in corners.
The Panthers turned it around in the second half, getting on the board early on a goal by junior midfielder
Elin Svensson in the 51st minute. Senior defender
Ciera Misner and freshman forward
Kellie Krygier provided the assists on the play.
Just four minutes later Misner ripped a long distance goal to put the Panthers ahead on the scoreboard 2-1. Senior midfielder
Kristin Howe then secured the victory by netting a third goal for FIT, her second of the year, in the 84th minute.
"It was a great overall team performance tonight against a very tough Embry-Riddle team, "said head coach
Dustin Smith. "We played well the first 20 minutes but couldn't find the back of the net. Embry-Riddle didn't have many chances early on but scored a nice goal in the first half with limited opportunities. I'm proud of the total team effort we displayed tonight and how we were able to come back with three unanswered goals in the second half to win a game on the road."
Prisco improved to 11-4 on the year, while making four saves in the win. Her counterpart, Fanny Kristiansson made six saves but the loss dropped her to 8-4-2 for the season.
Saturday's match concluded the regular season for the Panthers, who finished sixth in the final league standings. Florida Tech begins postseason action on Tuesday, Nov. 1, as it squares off with the 3rd-seeded Barry Buccaneers at 7 p.m. ET in Miami Shores, Florida.
FIT got the better of their first round opponent earlier this season, defeating the Bucs 3-1 on Sept. 14 in Melbourne. Links to live coverage for Tuesday's match can be accessed at www.FloridaTechSports.com.
