LAKELAND, Fla.- Southeastern women's soccer punched their ticket to the Sun Conference Tournament finals tonight with a 3-2 win over third-seeded St. Thomas University.
Both teams came out playing like there was a trip to the final on the line with three goals scored within the first eight minutes of the contest.
Katie Carnes gave the Fire an early lead with a goal in the third minute, her eighth of the season, after sending a chip shot over the keeper and into the bottom left.
An own goal by the Fire just two minutes later tied the contest at one.
In the seventh minute, Miranda Ferradaz gave the Bobcats a 2-1 lead after a shot over the head of the Fire keeper.
The Fire took advantage of a foul in the box in the 32nd minute as Naira Lopez would go into the bottom left corner, tying the contest at two.
Head coach Caleb Roberts stated, "Defensively the key was to not stop. We talked about it at halftime that the next 10 minutes were going to be very important because they have one of the highest caliber offenses in the country so we had to just keep going and not settle."
In the 74th minute, Madelyn Davidson made a long run up the near sideline, crossed the ball into the box for a one-touch shot into the bottom right for the game-winning goal.
"Naira led the team tonight," stated Roberts. "She kept pushing against a physical team but the movement off the ball is what we expect from her. The movement off the ball on the third goal is what was most impressive."
The Fire outshot the Bobcats 10-8 with six shots on goal.
Micaela Owen made two saves to aid in the 3-2 win.
Southeastern will next take on top-seeded SCAD-Savannah on the road on Friday for the SUN Tournament championship.
