Lakeland, Fla.- The Southeastern Women's Soccer team earned the win in Monday afternoon's home opener, defeating the Columbia International University Rams 2-0.
The Fire controlled possession and dictated the pace of the game from the onset, recording 12 shots with six of those coming on goal. The defensive unit held the Rams to only one shot the entire first half. Despite the aggression on offense, the Fire was unable to convert any opportunities into scores and took a 0-0 tie into the half.
The Fire rocketed off four more shots within the first five minute of play in the second half. The stalemate was finally broken by senior
Alyssa Kaminski in the 50
th minute, as she netted a goal off of a through ball down the middle from freshman midfielder
Bania Duran. Kaminski's goal was her fourth in two games.
"In the first half we were creating a large quantity of shots and not a lot of quality chances. We made some adjustments in the final third and created more quality opportunities and easier goals to finish," shared Head Coach
Randy Belli.
The Fire would add to their lead in the 60
th minute, as senior University of South Florida transfer
Soraya Martinez blasted one into the bottom right corner of the net from nearly 20 yards out off of a short pass from senior midfielder
Rebecca Reynolds.
SEU shut down any hopes of the Rams battling back into the game, allowing only two shots in the second half. The Fire took an astounding 31 shots, 17 of those coming on goal in the game.
With the win, the Fire improved to 2-0 on the season and has started off 2016 with two shutouts. This is the first time SEU has started off the season with two shutouts since 2009, when the team shutout opponents for the first six games of the season.
"Ultimately, when you have the ball they can't score, so I think we've done a good job of keeping the ball, making good decisions, and just taking care of the ball in possession," commented Coach Belli.
With the loss, the Rams fell to 1-1-1 on the season. Sophomore goalkeeper Sam Wammock took the loss, despite recording 13 saves. Junior
Sydni Brookhouser picked up her second win of the season in her first season in the net for the Fire.
The Fire will remain at home as they host Broward College in an exhibition game this Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m.
