LAKELAND, Fla. - A match set for excitement surely did not disappoint. The Fire prevailed over #4 Thomas by the score of 2-0 in huge part due to the tremendous support of the 12th man. Both teams played their hearts out, but when the final whistle blew the Fire were the ones celebrating.
The match began with intensity from both teams and continued the entire 90 minutes. Although the first half was scoreless, the Fire and Night Hawks both had opportunities on net. Southeastern managed to launch six shots, while the Night Hawks delivered four shots, none of which found the netting. The Fire, however, could feel the first goal coming.
In the 60th minute of the game, Tauan Salgado struck for the Fire. Luke Marchesani set up the play by feeding a pass inside the 18-yard-box to Salgado, who delivered the finishing blow to the back of the net.
After Salgado's goal, the Night Hawks began to create some quality chances in front of the net. The Fire's goalkeeper, Jorge Navarrette, executed remarkable saves to keep the Night Hawks off of the board.
Jonathan Jimenez contributed an insurance goal for the Fire In the 80th minute of the contest. Salgado connected a pass to the far left side of the box where Jimenez was located. Jimenez struck a rocket that beat Night Hawk keeper Lee Howarth to the far post.
With ten minutes left to play, Thomas looked for two goals to tie the match. The Night Hawks created a pair of corner kick opportunities in the second half, but the Fire defense remained strong. Thomas also had a couple free kick chances, but they were delivered just a touch too high over the crossbar.
On a warm and humid night, both teams substituted a plethora of players. The game proved to be a very physical one, with a total of 30 fouls committed between the two teams. Despite all of the adversity tonight, Southeastern played a complete 90 minute game that was pleasing to coach Clay Roberts.
"They (Thomas) are a high scoring team. They have two of the best forwards in the nation in my opinion," said Roberts. "Our guys showed a lot of resilience tonight."
The Fire handed the Night Hawks their first loss of the 2016 season and look to use this win propel them into their next contest against Warner University on Wednesday October 19th at 7 p.m.
