West Palm Beach, Fla. – The No. 21 Southeastern women's soccer team fell to the No. 3 Keiser University Seahawks in penalty kicks after tying 2-2 at the end of regulation and two overtime periods.
The Fire fended off an early attack from the Seahawks, which included three consecutive corner kicks in which SEU kept the ball out of the net. Multiple shots from senior forward
Alyssa Kaminski in the 20
th and 21
st minutes were close to breaking the stalemate.
In the 37
th minute, freshman midfielder
Bania Duran lined up from 20 yards out to take a free kick. Duran booted the ball right into the hands of the Keiser goalkeeper Elsa Netz, who mishandled the kick which resulted in the ball finding the back of the net for the Fire score. SEU took the 1-0 lead for the second time this season versus Keiser.
Less than a minute later, junior goalkeeper
Sydni Brookhouser made a couple of spectacular saves which preserved the Fire lead. Southeastern took the 1-0 lead into the half.
The Seahawks took hold of momentum in the early minutes of the second half. Sara Lundberg kicked on through in the 49
th minute to even things up 1-1. In the 55
th minute, Ebba Blomqvist netted a goal to give Keiser the 2-1 lead.
After the scoring run from Keiser, the SEU defense settled down, limiting the Seahawks to two shot attempts over the next 25 minutes of play.
The Fire refused to give up, putting forth a tenacious effort in all phases of their game and putting together several quality looks on offense. The hard work paid off in the 77
th minute as sophomore midfielder
Shayna Cole found freshman defender
Konya Plummer on a cross which the Jamaica native finished for the score.
Both teams had opportunities to close out the game in the final minutes, but as regulation ended, the Fire and the Seahawks remained tied 2-2. The teams played two 10 minute overtime periods in which the Fire were resilient on defense and created several chances to net the game winning goal. However, both squads were unable to score so the match was forced into a shootout.
In penalty kicks, the Seahawks defeated the Fire 4-3 to win the match.
"I am so proud to coach these girls. I am extremely proud of their hard work, effort, and what they have accomplished. I am excited for our future. I am so thankful for all the support from our athletic department and all of Fire Nation," shared Head Coach
Randy Belli
The Fire finished their run in the Sun Conference tournament as runner-up. This year's squad matched and broke several program records, including most single season wins, single season shutouts, and individual scoring streak.
SEU will await to see if they receive a bid for the NAIA National Championship Tournament.
