LAKELAND, Fla.—Though the men's soccer team didn't make the impression they wanted to at The Sun Conference tournament, the Fire still had a solid season.
In the first four games of the year, Southeastern went 2-2. Their two losses were at the hands of the first and thirteenth ranked teams in the nation, while they took the No. 1 squad in the land to overtime. The Fire then continued their road trip before returning home and proving victorious over Truett McConnell in their first home match.
SEU then began conference play. Though the Fire fell in their initial two conference games of the season, Southeastern finished the regular season on a tear. The Fire won six out of their last seven matches, outscoring their opponents 17-2 during the stretch.
Jake Van Der Luit led all Fire players with nine goals on the year. Junior
Tauan Salgado added seven goals for the Southeastern attack. Salgado's most prominent goal came on senior day, as it broke a deadlock with Florida Memorial in the 89
th minute, handing the Fire a much-needed conference win late in the season.
The midfield for Southeastern involved veteran build up play from seniors
Gerritson Craane and
Pedro Ivo Dias, who both recorded four goals. Craane notched four assists throughout the course of the season, while Ivo Dias tallied three.
Jonathan Jimenez also added four goals and three assists during the campaign.
On defense, the Fire were led by
Joey Dotson and
Caue Salgado, who started all 18 games for Southeastern.
Luke Marchesani played an important role on defense, too. Marchesani started 17 games and recorded three helpers on the season.
Jorge Navarrete handled most of the goalkeeping duties for the Fire. He played in 16 of the contests, while only conceding a total of 21 goals. Navarrete tallied 40 saves on the year.
Overall the Fire ended the season with impressive conference and home records, at 6-3 and 5-2, respectively. Southeastern outshot their opponents 276 to 193, while producing 15 more corner kicks. The Fire finished with a 9-9 record.
