ORANGE BEACH, Ala. Trailing by three goals at the half, No. 16 Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University stormed back in the second half but fell short, dropping a 4-2 decision to No. 3 Spring Arbor College (Mich.) in a Round of 16 match at the 2017 NAIA National Championship. The loss ended a spectacular season for the Eagles, who finish with an 18-4 overall record.

Things got off to a rough start for ERAU as Spring Arbor saw Bethany Balcher take the opening kickoff and dribble down the field, scoring the first goal of the game just 10 seconds in. The Eagles came back and got off a pair of shots on goal, one from freshman Riley Martinson (Deer Park, Wash.) and the other by junior Krista Lee (Henderson, Nev.) over the next nine minutes, but both were saved.

Spring Arbor then went up 2-0 in the 31^st minute when Renee Broekhuizen bent a corner kick in for the Cougars. ERAU got off two more shots in the half against the Spring Arbor defense but were unable to find the back of the net. With just 3:45 left Spring Arbor upped its lead to three goals when Balcher found Kelly Hoffius for a score.

In the second half Embry-Riddle got on the board 10 minutes in when junior Breanna Larkin (Las Vegas, Nev.) got free 20 yards in front of the Spring Arbor goal and beat the keeper with her shot to make it 3-1. Just six minutes later sophomore Jennifer Ruth (Oak Hills, Calif.) played a cross to within six yards of the Cougars goal where freshman Riley Martinson (Deer Park, Wash.) had worked herself free to take the pass and score, pulling the Eagles back to within one.

Embry-Riddle had two other opportunities to score over the next 17 minutes with a pair of shots on goal, but both were turned away by the Cougars goalkeeper, Ashley Timmons. Three and a half minutes later Balcher scored again for Spring Arbor, making it a two-goal lead with eight minutes to play.

Embry-Riddle got off two more shots in the final six and a half minutes, but neither resulted in a score as Spring Arbor went on to advance to the quarterfinals of the tournament.