BABSON PARK, Fla. (September 30, 2020) – The Webber International University women's soccer team played at home for the first time so far in 2020, and the Warriors did a great job of battling to a scoreless tie in the first half before surrendering five goals in the second half to lose 5-0 against the No. 4-ranked team in the NAIA, Southeastern University, on Wednesday afternoon on the Warrior Turf Field.
Webber fell to 1-3 overall and 0-3 in The Sun Conference so far in 2020 while Southeastern, which has now outscored its opponents 25-1 with four shutouts through its first five matches, remained undefeated at 5-0 and 3-0.
The Warriors were held to only three shots by halftime, but limited the Fire to nine as
Natalie Bartek made three saves to help keep the match scoreless at the break.
It was a noticeable improvement for the Warriors compared to their last two matchups with the Fire as Webber found itself behind 3-0 at the break last year and 5-0 two years ago during Head Coach
Brian Fallon's first season leading the team.
However, Southeastern, which entered the match sixth in the NAIA at 28.8 shots per match, stayed right on that number by finishing with 29 shots and 18 shots on goal compared to four total shots and only two shots on goal for the Warriors.
Webber's shots on goal came from
Sarah Thigpen and
Da'Carrah Odom while
Sophia Kenny and
Savannah Heggen also each added one attempt. Bartek finished with 10 saves in the second half and had 13 total for the match.
After Webber's three shots in the first half, Odom's shot that was saved in the 52nd minute would be the final attempt of the match for the Warriors.
A little over eight minutes later, Southeastern's Anne-Clara Couturier scored her first of four goals. In all, the Fire put in five goals over the final 31 minutes of action.
"We played 60 minutes of the hardest soccer I've even seen this team play," said Fallon. "I am very proud of my team. The result could've been better, but I think we really do have a great understanding of what we're capable of and where we are headed. We really have a lot of positives to take away from our effort today."
Next up, Webber will remain at home for a second straight conference matchup on the Warrior Turf Field as the Warriors host the Lions of Florida Memorial University starting at 11 a.m. on Saturday, October 3. Webber will enter the match 9-0-1 all-time against FMU with wins of 7-3 and 3-0 during the last two seasons.
