LAKELAND, Fla. – The No. 20 Southeastern University women's soccer team made a powerful opening statement to the 2017 season. The Fire went 2-0 on their participation in the Jenna Paige Bragg Memorial Women's Soccer Classic, played in West Point, Ga. SEU shut out host school Point University 5-0 in the season opener and followed that up with a 5-2 takedown of Truett McConnell University. The Fire now set their sights on a Top 20 showdown at No. 12 Reinhardt University on Wednesday before heading back to Lakeland to host the Fire Invitational.
GAMES: No. 12 Reinhardt (1-1) vs. No. 20 Southeastern (2-0) Wednesday 7:30 p.m. | No. 20 Southeastern (2-0) vs. Evangel (1-0-1) Saturday 12:00 p.m. | No. 20 Southeastern vs. Columbia International (1-0) Monday 5 p.m. |
COVERAGE: Reinhardt: Live Video Stats Evangel/CIU: Live Video Stats
KANU DIG IT: Sophomore forward
Uchenna Kanu picked right back up where she left off after making her midseason debut in 2016. Kanu unleashed a dominant performance at the classic in West Point, netting five goals and three assists for a total of 13 points. With three goals against Point in the opener, she became the first SEU player to record a first half hat trick since Bre Eldridge on 10/29/14 versus Wesleyan College.
STEF IT UP: Graduate midfielder
Estefania Fuentes made a noteworthy debut as a member of the Fire. The Puebla, Mexico native converted three of her four shots on goal into scores. Fuentes also added an assist to her three goal performance in the first two contests, which included a multi-goal effort versus Truett McConnell. One of the goals versus TMU was a stellar chip over the keeper from 20 yards out. The duo of Kanu and Fuentes accounted for eight of the 10 Fire goals in the opening week.
PREVIOUS MEETINGS: This will be the first meetings for SEU with Reinhardt and Evangel in program history. This will be the second consecutive season Southeastern has hosted Columbia International. The Fire defeated the Rams 2-0 in 2016.
THE EAGLES: The preseason favorites to win the Appalachian Athletic Conference were stunned in their season opener, as Reinhardt suffered a 4-3 defeat on the road to Cumberlands (Ky.) before earning a 3-0 win over Bob Jones in their home opener. The Eagles return their top two goal scorers from last season in senior midfielder Katie Goodrich and sophomore forward Adrien Merrilles. Goodrich led the team with 14 goals and four assists while Merrilles followed closely with 12 goals and six helpers. The duo have each found the back of the net twice thus far in 2017.
THE CRUSADERS: Evangel looks to continue to make strides as a third year program, having improved from an 0-15 inaugural season in 2015 to win five games in 2016. The Crusaders are off to a 1-0-1 start this season after an impressive 6-1 win over Lyon before tying LSU Alexandria 0-0. Freshman midfielder Alyson Reinold had a memorable first game of her collegiate career, netting two goals and recording two assists in the win over Lyon.
THE RAMS: Columbia International is another third year program looking to take the next step. The Rams went 5-9-3 in their second season of play, suffering three one goal losses. CIU was victorious in their season opener versus cross town rival Columbia College. The Rams won the Capital City Classic 2-0, mostly thanks to the performance of senior midfielder Janie Holland. The Monroe, N.C. native picked up a goal and assist in the win.
