Box Score NORTH MIAMI, Fla. - In a hard fought comeback attempt, Southeastern fell shy of the Wildcats by a score of 4-2. Although early on the affair appeared to be one-sided in favor of the Wildcats, the Fire created a number of quality opportunities. They, however, were unable to fully close the gap.
In the 8th minute of the contest, the Wildcats were off to an electric start after a nifty pass found Valentine Salinas, beating Fire keeper Logan Whitney to the near side. Just 6 minutes later Wildcats Gregory McDoom began his quest for a hat trick. McDoom received a pass from Salinas and tickled the nylon in the back of the goal to give the Wildcats a 2-0 lead. Less than one minute later, McDoom scored again after receiving an assist from Bradley Langhorne.
Shortly after halftime, the Fire gained traction, and the tide began to turn in their favor. Southeastern showed up on the board in the 50th minute of the game after Jonathan Jimenez found Tauan Salgado in the box. Salgado applied the final touch, making the score 3-1 in favor of the Wildcats. From this point on, Southeastern dominated the ball in the Wildcats zone.
Ten minutes later, Salgado found Jake Van Der Luit, who finished the play to the keeper's far side, getting the Fire within one. Even though Southeastern trailed, their attack was promising.
Unfortunately, however, for the Fire in the 73rd minute of the contest, McDoom completed the hat trick after he netted a penalty shot, advancing the Wildcats by two. The Fire did not back down and continued to press, but were unable to find the two equalizing goals.
Despite the Fire falling short, they outshot their opponent 18 to 8 and created multiple opportunities in front of the net. The match between the two teams was a physical one, with the center referee issuing six yellow cards, four to Johnson & Wales and a couple to Southeastern.
The Fire look to bounce back in their next match when they meet the St. Thomas Bobcats on Wednesday, October 5th, at 7:30 p.m.
