LAKELAND, Fla.- The Southeastern University women's soccer team is eager to take the pitch and maintain its well-established presence on the national stage. Under the direction of first year head coach
Caleb Roberts, a solid combination of returning and new talent looks to continue the high standard of program success.
The Fire are coming off a 17-2-1 2020 campaign, in which SEU swept both The Sun Conference Regular Season and Tournament Championships, as well as advanced to the NAIA National Quarterfinals for a fourth-straight season.
Southeastern will take the pitch this season without some key contributors from last season. Outside back
Sierra Clayton is among those not returning. Clayton started all 20 matches for SEU last season, recorded five assists, was voted First Team All-Sun Conference, and was named NAIA All-American Honorable Mention. The 2020 Sun Conference Freshman of the Year
Anne-Clara Couturier is also not returning after netting nine goals last season. Midfielder
Brianna Luna also departs from the program after dishing out three assists in 11 starts last year.
SEU returns eight players who started 11 or more matches in 2020.
Graduate forward
Aisha Solorzano is back in her fifth season with the program, bringing 78 matches of experience to the table for the Fire. Last season, Solorzano was a Second Team NAIA All-American and First Team All-Sun after leading SEU with 14 goals scored.
Junior midfielder
Naira Lopez is back for SEU after she was the leading point-getter for the Fire in 2020, scoring 11 goals and registering 13 assists. Junior defender
Chloe Martin is the only returning Fire player to start all 20 matches last season.
2020 Second Team All-SUN selections
Jennifer Luna and
Gabriela Labrador are also back in an SEU uniform this season. Luna scored five goals and recorded two assists last year, while Labrador scored three goals and had two assists from the center back position.
Senior goalkeeper
Holly Eddins rounds out the group of key returners for Southeastern. Eddins compiled 65 saves and eight shutouts in goal for the Fire last season, as she was voted First Team All-SUN, named SUN Tournament MVP, and NAIA All-American Honorable Mention.
"We have a lot of new players and a good core group of returning players who have taken the new players under their wings and shown them what the culture of the program is all about," shared Coach Roberts. "This has translated in the preseason from the locker room to the field which is exciting."
A total of 16 new student-athletes are on the 2021 roster for Southeastern.
One noteworthy newcomer is graduate forward
Shara Randez, who comes to the program after a four-year career at the University of the Cumberlands. At Cumberlands, Randez was a three-time NAIA All-American and three-time First Team All-Mid-South Conference. In 2020, Randez led the team with 16 goals and totaled seven assists.
Another key transfer is redshirt-freshman
Kyndal Glover, who sat out last season at NCAA Division II Belmont Abbey College.
The Fire freshman class features a pair of standouts in defender Alvia Knapp and
Ramsey Watkins. Knapp was named All-Region and All-State at Three Rivers High School in Michigan last season and helped lead her team to a district title. Watkins is a local talent from Lakeland Christian School, where she scored 37 goals in 154 varsity matches.
SEU opens the 2021 campaign in Hattiesburg, Miss. tonight at 7:00 p.m. eastern versus the 2020 NAIA National Runners-Up William Carey University.
