LAKELAND, Fla.—Southeastern put up a valiant fight against one of the nation's top teams, but fell by a score of 3-0 after 90 minutes of play.
Each team had their fair share of possession toward the beginning of the game as both sides tried to get a feel for the match.
SEU's best chance to get on the board came in the 5th minute, when
Jonathan Jimenez was sent a through ball. The defender, who had stepped up to trap the midfielder offside, was caught out of position as Jimenez strode into the box and blasted a shot that flew a mere inches over the crossbar.
Within the blink of an eye, St. Thomas found themselves ahead in the 15
th minute after a corner kick by Thomas Greco was headed by Pablo Gill at the near post and past a sprawling
Jorge Navarrete.
For the rest of the first half, Southeastern held the Bobcats at bay, limiting St. Thomas' quality scoring chances.
The Fire went into the locker room down 1-0 after being out-shot 6-3, but held a slight advantage in corner kicks at 3-2.
In the second half, the Bobcats relied on their quick-striking offense once again. After a Fire turnover fell at the feet of Federico Moronell, the speedy forward turned, played a ball past the defense, raced onto his own pass, and rocketed a shot past Navarrete at the near post to double St. Thomas' advantage in the 64
th minute. The goal was Moronell's 11
th of the season, the most in the Sun Conference.
Just nine minutes after their second goal, St. Thomas provided insurance with a tally off of a well-worked throw in. The ball ended up at the feet of Greco, who fired a shot at the edge of the box that found its way into the net at the near post.
Navarrete did all he could to stop the Bobcats' prolific offensive attack and blocked five of their eight shots on goal in the contest; however, the Fire couldn't come up with an answer against the top team in the Sun Conference.
Southeastern will look to bounce back when they play Florida Memorial on Saturday, October 21st. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. in Miami Gardens.
