Women's soccer team opens with win over No. 2 Laramie County

The Eastern Florida State College women's soccer team made a statement in its season opener Friday night at Titan Soccer Complex.

The Titans, who are No. 4 in the NJCAA Division I preseason poll, scored five unanswered goals in the second half to post the 6-1 victory against No. 2 Laramie County Community College.

"Really pleased with the team and hopefully we can build on that and this is just the start," Eastern Florida State College women's soccer coach Jeff Carr said.

Freshman Hanna Ryberg put the Titans on the board 23 minutes into the match, guiding a corner kick into the back of the net. The score would hold up until the second half when Johnson County Community College tied it 1-1.

It did not stay tied long as sophomore Cristina Garriga finds Ebony Wiseman running down the middle of the field and Wiseman puts it past the goalkeeper to give the Titans the lead.

Less than a minute later it was 3-1 as Garriga found freshman Sophia Kenny who scored her first collegiate goal.

"(Assistant coach) Teresa Moon told Cristina that was the best she has played and I agree with that, she was able to get around the corner and passed the ball really well. Many of the passes were right on the money," Carr said. "She had a fantastic game for us. Several others did as well but she played great."

The Titans were not done as they would score three more goals in the final 10 minutes of the match. The fourth goal of the night may have been one of the best ones as  Aida Illas passed to Ali Tosches who gave it back to a breaking Illas. Illas then found a streaking Wiseman who found the back of the net for the second time.

Starting defender Emily Bodi made it 5-1 when a rebound came out and the freshman from Viera High used her left foot to blast it into the top right corner of the net.

Teyah Lindo finished the scoring with a quick move and strike that beat the goalkeeper with under a minute left in the match.

"We had two starters out and the bench stepped up and played some big minutes for us," Carr said. "I was really really pleased with the effort tonight."

The Titans (1-0) will pay Johnson County Community College at 6 p.m. on Sunday. The Cavaliers lost to Daytona State College 4-1 in a match that ended early because of a lightning delay. The eighth-ranked Falcons will play Laramie County Community College at 10 a.m. on Sunday. Both games will be at Titan Soccer Complex on the Melbourne campus and admission is free.