LAKELAND, Fla. – The No. 11 Southeastern University women's soccer team has hit its stride down the stretch of Sun Conference play. The Fire have netted six or more goals in four of their last five conference matches, averaging a score per 14.5 minutes during that stretch. On the defensive side, SEU has allowed opponents to find the back of the net just once per 112.5 minutes on average. Southeastern earned to dominant results last week over SCAD Savannah (6-0) and USC Beaufort (9-1). The Fire now set their sights on the home stretch of TSC action, as they conclude the regular season with two home matches versus Warner and Ave Maria.
GAMES: No. 11 Southeastern (12-1, 7-1 TSC) vs. Warner (7-5, 5-4 TSC) Wednesday 7:00 p.m.
No. 11 Southeastern (12-1, 7-1 TSC vs. Ave Maria (0-11-1, 0-6 TSC) Saturday 7:00 p.m.
COVERAGE: Live Video/Stats
SPECIAL KANUEVER: Sophomore forward
Uchenna Kanu has demonstrated no signs of slowing down in her dynamic 2017 campaign. Kanu turned in 15 points in two games last week, found 14 shots on frame, and averaged a goal scored per 19.9 minutes of play. The Abia, Nigeria native's flurry of scoring has been a result of excellent build up play from her teammates. All seven of Kanu's goals this past week were assisted, including two helpers a piece from sophomore defender
Konya Plummer and sophomore midfielder
Bania Duran, who leads the team with 10 assists on the season.
FIRE SENIORS: SEU will honor its 2017 senior class on Senior Night this Saturday versus Ave Maria. The Fire will graduate fine seniors this season:
Sydni Brookhouser,
Courtney Copeland,
Kaitlyn Romero,
Heidi Ruth, and
Nicole Shaffer. This senior class has led Southeastern to a 50-15-2 record and three straight Sun Conference Tournament appearances. They have also led the Fire to 30 shutouts during their combined time with the program.
PREVIOUS ENCOUNTERS: Southeastern holds the slight 9-7 advantage over Ave Maria in the all-time series. However, since joining the NAIA in 2009, SEU has won seven of nine versus WU, having not lost to the Royals since 8/29/13. The Fire were a perfect 3-0 versus Ave Maria last season. The Fire outscored the Gyrenes 20-0 in those contests, including an 8-0 handling in the first round of The Sun Conference Tournament. SEU has never lost to AMU in program history, leading the all-time series 15-0.
THE ROYALS: Warner is in line to earn their first berth in The Sun Conference Tournament since 2011. With a 5-4 league record, the Royals currently sit fifth in the conference standings. Warner is fresh off nearly snapping the now 21 home win streak of No. 6 Keiser, falling to the Seahawks 2-1 in West Palm Beach. The loss snapped a five game win streak for the Royals, in which they had outscored opponents 15-5. 11 different players have netted a goal for WU this season. Senior forward Kristen Isabelle leads the Royals with five goals on the year, although she has been held out of the box score in the last two contests.
THE GYRENES: It has been a tough journey for Ave Maria in 2017. The Gyrenes have yet to find the win column and have been outscored 52-5 in TSC play. It has been a busy season for freshman goalkeeper Erica Larson, whose 128 saves leads the conference and ranks 10
th in the NAIA. Senior midfielder Alexia Mazzoccone leads the Gyrenes with four goals scored and will look to make an impact in the final game of her collegiate career.
FIRE FACTS:
- A win this week would earn Head Coach Randy Belli his 30th career victory in his second year as a collegiate head coach.
- Kanu had five assists versus the Royals and Gyrenes last year.
- All three senior field players netted at least one goal versus Ave Maria last season.
- Shayna Cole and Kanu both had hat tricks versus the Gyrenes in 2016.
- The Fire have not lost on their home pitch since 10/3/15, having won 18 straight at home, the second longest active streak in The Sun Conference.
Be sure to follow @SEUFireWSoccer for all of the latest updates.
