After going behind a goal early in the second half, Southeastern used two late goals to earn yet another conference win, this time against St. Thomas. The Fire are now 7-1 in the conference, and 13-1 overall.
The game started slow, with the number of fouls outnumbering the amount of shots in the first 30 minutes. Both teams were playing physically, and the Fire controlled a majority of the possession, but the game remained scoreless going into halftime.
Just three minutes into the second half, the Bobcats took a corner kick and the target of the cross was pushed while jumping to head the ball, resulting in a penalty kick. Jannel Johnson stepped up and calmly slotted the ball past Southeastern goalkeeper,
Sydni Brookhouser, who did all she could to keep the ball out of the back of the net.
After falling behind, the Fire maintained control for the rest of the match. The Fire outshot the Bobcats 13-3 in the second half, keeping the pressure on St. Thomas. Eventually, in the 74
th minute, the Fire offense connected on the equalizer. Great build-up play by
Bania Duran and
Shayna Cole resulted in a perfect cross by
Konya Plummer that was headed past the St. Thomas goalie by
Uchenna Kanu.
The Fire kept their foot on the gas pedal, looking for the go-ahead goal. With only eight minutes remaining in the contest,
Melanie Peyton played a ball into Becky Reynolds, who fired a low cross into the box in the direction of
Alyssa Kaminski. Kaminski used the perfect amount of finesse and power to guide the ball into the side-netting of the far post on the first touch, completing Southeastern's comeback.
Though in the first half the Fire weren't playing up to their full potential, Coach
Randy Belli was happy with the overall result. "Anytime you don't play your best, but still get a positive result against a tough conference opponent, it's good", Belli said. He added, "I think a game like this shows the grit and determination our players have, when they battle and come out on top even when they aren't fully connecting".
The Fire, who are looking to finish the regular season with an undefeated home record, will have Senior Night during their next, and final, home game on October 29
th at 5pm against Florida Memorial.
