LAKELAND, Fla. - The Fire capped off Senior Night in the last minutes of the contest with the only goal scored, marking Southeastern's 1-0 win over the Florida Memorial Lions. Upon entering the match, the Lions had won four out of their last five games, and the Fire, of late, had been playing outstanding soccer. A match that was needed to keep Southeastern's Sun Conference hopes alive surely did not disappoint, as both teams fought hard throughout the game's entirety.
Indeed, both teams played aggressively and created a few chances on net this cool night. The goalposts were busy, denying shots from both teams. Late in the second half, however, the Fire finally broke through. In the 88th minute of play, Southeastern was fouled deep in the Lions' defensive zone. Senior Pedro Ivo Dias stood over the ball in preparation for a free kick, while the Fire attackers got ready in the box. When the whistle blew, Ivo Dias struck a beautiful ball into the box in Tauan Salgado's direction. Salgado headed the ball cleanly, causing it to find the back of the net. With only one minute left to score, the Lions attempted to retaliate by sending every one of their attackers forward, but they were unable to penetrate Southeastern's defense.
Jorge Navarrete logged his second shutout of the season, demonstrating tremendous play in net. The Lions generated goal scoring opportunities, but Navarrette's timely saves kept Florida Memorial off the scoreboard.
Overall, the Lions outshot the Fire 18-14; however, when it mattered most, the Fire were the ones who netted the opportune goal. Additionally, the match proved to be an extremely physical one with a total of 28 fouls called and seven yellow cards issued.
The Fire aim to carry their winning momentum into their last regular season match at Ave Maria University on Monday, October 31st, at 3:30 p.m.
