Box Score AUBURNDALE, Fla.- In their first women's soccer game of the year, the Fire had to battle high temperatures, a torrential downpour, high winds, and Columbia College; all in a span of 90 minutes.
When the final horn sounded, Southeastern came away with a 1-0 win over the Koalas.
Fighting through the winds and rains that started in the second half, sophomore Karly Palmar took a feed from Alyssa Kaminski in the 60th minute on the right wing and sent a shot to the upper ninety far post to give Southeastern (1-0-0) the lone goal of the game.
"It's all mental; if you have a strong mind, no matter what comes, it doesn't matter," said Palmar of the conditions.
The defense of the Fire stood out, limiting the Koalas (1-1-0) to just two shots in the game, neither of which were on goal. They were tested late in the second half, clearing away a couple dangerous balls that were sent into the attacking box.
"Our returners spent last year developing a mentality of no matter what hits us, we're going to power through," said Coach Bronson Gambale.
The heat in the first half took a lot out of both teams as they struggled through the triple digit heat indices, and went into the halftime intermission scoreless and with three total shots on goal between the two teams.
The Fire next take the pitch on Monday when they host Savannah College of Art and Design in Auburndale at 5 p.m.
