Fire Win Second Consecutive SUN Women’s Soccer Tourney Title

LAKELAND, Fla.—A strong second half helped Southeastern come away with the 2021 Sun Conference Women's Soccer Tournament championship with a 2-1 win over St. Thomas Friday night.
 
Following a scoreless first half St. Thomas got a goal just over two minutes into the second half on a ball that was crossed in by Katharina Jullich and send over the goal line by Angelica De Don.
 
Just 51 seconds later, Naira Lopez took a pass from Gabriela Labrador and shot it hard to the far post to tie the game with her fourth goal of the season.
 
"We had to respond quickly because St. Thomas was confident after the goal and that was dangerous for us," said Lopez. "I knew I had one on one and won the ball to go against the keeper."
 
In the 79^th minute, Lopez worked past a defender on the right wing and sent a ball across the box to Hanna Ryberg who found the back of the net for the fourth time this year and gave the Fire its first lead of the game and secure its 10^th consecutive win.
 
It was Ryberg's first career game-winning goal.
 
"We had some good, long, hard conversations after those two losses and then 10 games later with just four goals against, it's a good way to go on," said coach Caleb Roberts. "It was a wild three minutes to start the second half that felt like an hour."
 
Southeastern controlled possession through the first half, firing off 10 total shots with three good chances with one hitting the crossbar on a free kick by Gabriella Labrador. Despite being held without a shot in the first half, St. Thomas kept itself in the game by withstanding the pressure in the first 45 minutes.
 
Lopez, Labrador, Ryberg, and Makayla Peddycoart were named to the All-Tournament Team with Aisha Solorzano earning Tournament MVP honors.
 
"It's not just the stats for Aisha, it's how much she does on the field and what she draws from the other team," said Roberts.
 
With the win, the Fire have secured a trip to the NAIA National Championship Opening Round with play beginning on Thursday, November 18^th.
 
The field for the national tournament will be revealed on Monday at noon.