Jacksonville, Florida-On Saturday evening, the EWU football squad had a thrilling home victory over Albany State. On Tuesday afternoon, the women's soccer squad was equal to the task with a dominate 5-1 home victory over the Lady Rams in their final home contest at the Nathaniel Glover Community Field & Stadium. The victory gives the program their first winning record since the inception of the program in 2020.
Edward Waters (7-4-2) got the scoring started just eight minutes into the contest, thanks to an Albany State (1-13-1, 0-7-1 PBC) foul that occurred in the penalty area, giving the Lady Tigers a penalty shot. On her senior day,
Rayven Norman stepped up to the spot and calmly placed the ball in the left corner of the net to give the Purple & Orange a 1-0 lead. The good feelings briefly dissipated just :30 later as Albany State scored on a breakaway to knot the scoring at 1-1, which would be the score at the half.
At halftime of the contest, Edward Waters honored its inaugural senior class of
Rayven Norman, Alyha Velazquez-Diaz,
Jianna Jones, and Chanel Green. This class laid the foundation for which future Edward Waters women's soccer programs will stand upon. Among the class' many accomplishments, were a third place finish in the Continental Athletic Conference in 2021, the program's final season as an NAIA member. Also in that season, the Lady Tigers finished ranked in the top 10 of all NCAA Division II members in four categories (Total Goals, Total Points, Points Per game, and Goals Per Game).
Following the halftime festivities, the offensive floodgates opened in a major way for the home team. Norman found the back of the net for the second time in the match in the 53rd minute, allowing Edward Waters to regain the lead at 2-1. The major turning point in the match came in the 67th minute when an Albany State player was issued a red card, giving Edward Waters a major opportunity to take advantage of the now shorthanded Lady Rams.
Fernanda Soto scored on an assist from
Nadja Dzetelovic in the 71st minute to give EWU a two goal lead at 3-1, then in the 78th minute
Libby Brown scored on a cross from Minya Browning, growing the Lady Tiger lead to 4-1.
Lara Viehrig put the final nail in the Albany State coffin in the 84th minute, scoring on a corner kick from
Claudia Mate to give the squad and especially the senior class a memorable 5-1 home victory.
Edward Waters offensive opportunities were plentiful throughout the match with 25 total shots, 16 of them being on goal, while holding ASU to six total shots, and three of them on goal.
Katharina Weigl led the Lady Tigers with a match high four shots, while
Libby Brown,
Rayven Norman, and substitutes
Daniela Iduriaga and
Miniya Browning had three shots apiece.
Sheila Pascual had a pretty light afternoon in goal for the Lady Tigers, being called upon to turn away just two shots.
Edward Waters will head down to South Florida in their next action on Halloween, October 31st for a 6:00pm kickoff against Barry University in Miami Shores.
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