ORANGE BEACH, Ala.- Fresh off a determined 1-0 victory yesterday over the fifth-seeded Vanguard University Lions in the NAIA Women's Soccer National Championship Round of 16, the twelfth-seeded Southeastern University women's soccer team immediately turns its focus to a monumental matchup in the tournament quarterfinals. The Fire face the fourth-seeded William Carey University Lady Crusaders tomorrow afternoon with a place in the semifinals at stake.
GAME: #4 (4) William Carey (18-2) vs. #12 (10) Southeastern (19-1) Wednesday 2:30 p.m. EST
COVERAGE: WATCH LIVE STATS
FAST FIRE: SEU struck early in its Round of 16 matchup versus Vanguard. Sophomore forward Uchenna Kanu found the back of the net 54 seconds into the match when she cut back to the left side of the box and bent in a shot far post. The goal pushed her season total to 45. The Fire have been effective in finishing scoring chances early in contests this season. Southeastern has scored 46.8% of its goals this season (44-94) in the first 45 minutes of play, with 47.8% of those first half goals (21-44) coming in the first 20 minutes.
DUVAL DOMINANCE: Senior goalkeeper Kaitlyn Romero is coming off a career game versus Vanguard. The Jacksonville native tied her career high in saves with eight versus the Lions and helped power the Fire to the win, despite being outshot 19 (8)-9 (5). Romero eclipsed the century mark in career saves (104) versus Vanguard and posted her fourth shutout of the season. The Fire have yet to concede a goal in the National Tournament, holding opposing offenses scoreless for 224 consecutive minutes.
FIRE IMPRESSIONS: Wednesday marks the first ever meeting between Southeastern and William Carey.
THE LADY CRUSADERS: William Carey has had little trouble executing chances in the National Tournament. The Lady Crusaders have turned in back to back four goal efforts on the national stage, including a 4-0 handling of thirteenth-seeded Oklahoma Wesleyan in the Round of 16 yesterday. William Carey's depth proved to be too much for OKW, with the Lady Crusaders netting three of their four goals and holding the shot advantage 17-3 in the second half. Sophomore midfielder Silvia Leonessi and junior forward Savanah Carter each had multi-goal games for WCU in the win. Six players have scored eight or more goals for William Carey this season.
FIRE FACTS:
- The Fire are currently riding an 11 match win streak and have won eight consecutive matches outside the state of Florida.
- Uchenna Kanu has scored three goals in the National Tournament thus far.
- Southeastern's is 6-1 versus NAIA ranked or receiving vote's opponents this season.
- Randy Belli is 36-2-1 all-time at the helm of the SEU women's soccer program.
TALE OF THE TAPE:
SEU
Goals per Game: 4.7
Shots per Game: 24.5
Shots on Goal per Game: 12.2
Shutouts: 11
Individual Goals Leader: Uchenna Kanu (45)
Individual Assists Leader: Aisha Solorzano (14)
Individual Saves Leader: Kaitlyn Romero (38)
WCU
Goals per Game: 3.85
Shots per Game: 21.85
Shots on Goal per Game: 12.45
Shutouts: 9
Individual Goals Leader: Kaylee Zettler (13)
Individual Assists Leader: Silvia Leonessi (16)
Individual Saves Leader: Melanie Lefebvre (35)
Be sure to follow @SEUFireWSoccer on Twitter and like SEU Fire Athletics on Facebook for all of the latest updates as the Fire continue their historic run in the NAIA National Tournament.
