FOLEY, Ala. – The No. 2 seeded Southeastern will play in the NAIA Women's Soccer National Championships Quarterfinals this Thursday at 5 p.m. EST in Foley, Alabama. This is the Fire's fourth-straight quarterfinal appearance.
In the Opening Round, the Fire defeated Thomas University 3-0 after scoring all three goals in the first 16 minutes of play.
Mashell Rodriguez got the Fire up 1-0 just over a minute into the match, burying a feed from
Ciara Boal. Within the next four minutes, senior
Nathalie Saldana scored her first career goal, advancing the lead 2-0. Boal scored the final goal on the game in the 16
th minute of play.
On Saturday, Southeastern kept things rolling in a 2-0 win over Reinhardt University to advance to final 10 teams and win the Lakeland Opening Round. The Fire outshot Reinhardt 30-3 and had 15 corner kicks to Reinhardt's one.
Junior Gabriella Labrador and
Aisha Solorzano gave the Fire the advantage on two goals, Labrador's in the first half and Solorzano late in the second on a penalty kick after Rodriguez was tripped in the box during a shot attempt.
No. 7 Spring Arbor defeated No. 10 Eastern Oregon in the first round yesterday by the score of 3-2. The Fire will take on the winner of this matchup on Thursday evening. Madison Marshall scored twice in the first 35 minutes, and Lauren Marshall added a goal in the 38
th to help come away with the win. EOU scored on a penalty kick with just over 90 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to one.
Spring Arbor defeated Lindsey Wilson College 3-0 in the final match of the Spring Arbor Bracket to advance to Foley, Ala. They have a 14-2-1 record on the 2020-21 season. The Cougars have played in three of the last six national championship games, winning the 2015 and 2017 titles. They rank second nationally in shutouts per game and fourth nationally in total shutouts with 12 on the season. Goalkeeper Samantha Tracey ranks second nationally in goals against per game with .330.
With a win, Southeastern would advance to its third-straight national semifinal match on Saturday and would face the University of the Cumberlands or Keiser at 8 p.m. Eastern.
