Women's Soccer | 9/2/2017 5:35:00 PM
Box Score LAKELAND, Fla.—
Uchenna Kanu tallied four goals in Southeastern's first game of the SEU Invitational, as the Fire trampled Evangel University by a score of 6-0.
The Fire dominated the first half with 15 unanswered shots, but were unable to break through until the 26 minute mark. Southeastern then exploded offensively for three goals in a 2:58 span.
Bania Duran headed a failed clearance attempt from the Crusaders to Kanu, who found
Konya Plummer with a well-executed through ball. Plummer was able to chip the Evangel keeper from the middle of the box to put the Fire up 1-0.
Not even a minute later, Plummer returned the favor by assisting on a Kanu tally to double the Southeastern advantage. Kanu notched another goal as she settled a ball at the top of the box, fired a rocket off of the Crusader goalie, and slid the rebound under the diving keeper for her second of the game. This allowed the Fire to head into the half with a 3-0 lead.
The second half began just as the first half ended.
Shayna Cole beat a Crusader defender and got dragged down in the box to earn a penalty kick. Kanu coolly put the ball into the bottom right corner of the net to complete her hat-trick just two minutes into the second frame.
Cole played an instrumental part in Kanu's fourth of the day, as well. She took a corner kick from the left side, which was perfectly floated to the edge of the 6-yard box, where Kanu guided it home with her head for Southeastern's fifth of the game.
Southeastern dominated both possession as well as shots in the competition. The Fire out-shot Evangel 29-4 (19-1 on goal) and scored five goals before Evangel registered a single shot in the contest. The lone Crusader strike was easily handled by
Kaitlyn Romero. Josie Gregory led the goalkeeping efforts for Evangel with 11 saves in her 57 minutes of play.
The depth of the Fire's team was shown on Southeastern's final score.
Rachel Wallace sent a ball down the line to
Carley Bostwick, who beat her defender and slid a ball across the area to
Sierra Clayton. Clayton tapped it in for her first career collegiate goal, which capped off the 6-0 victory.
Regarding the depth, 27 players made appearances for the Fire, while 11 separate athletes took shots. Coach
Randy Belli said, "It was a total team effort today. 27 players contributed to this result and the team remained consistent throughout."
Southeastern will face Columbia International University in their second competition of the tournament. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. on Monday.
