HAMMOND – Southeastern Louisiana senior forward Kristin McDonald broke a scoreless tie in the match's 38th minute to give the Lady Lions a 1-0 victory over William Carey Tuesday afternoon at the Southeastern Soccer Complex.

Southeastern improved to 3-0-1 overall with the victory. The match counted as an exhibition for William Carey (0-2-1), which was ranked 17th nationally in the latest NAIA polls.

“We had a tough time finding our rhythm against a very good William Carey team today,” Southeastern head coach Blake Hornbuckle commented. “We gave the ball away a lot and we were not as composed in scoring situations as we usually are. Thankfully, we found a way to get the goal we needed and grind out a win when we weren't at our best.”

Both goalkeepers were outstanding in Tuesday's match. Southeastern freshmanLacey Bockhaus posted her third shutout of the season and made several key stops, finishing the match with four saves. Valerie Split-Log kept William Carey in the match, finishing with eight saves on the day and thwarting several Southeastern scoring opportunities. Southeastern held a 12-8 shot advantage and Bockhaus was one of several Lady Lions Hornbuckle singled out for praise.

“Lacey was outstanding in the net for us today,” Hornbuckle said. “Her decision-making was tremendous and she really stepped up big when we needed her to. We were also very pleased with the efforts of Kyle MacIntosh in the midfield and Shalayne Heffner in the back.”

Southeastern had several opportunities in the first half, but couldn't capitalize until McDonald broke through. The play started on a corner kick by junior midfielder Jenna Oney, the reigning Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Week.

Oney's kick ricocheted off several players and rolled free. MacIntosh was the first Lady Lion to get a foot on it, tapping it to McDonald, who knocked it into the goal from point blank range.

The goal was the team-high fourth of the season for McDonald, a St. Catherines, Ont. native. Her 12 career goals rank her 10th in school history.

Southeastern came out with higher energy in the second half and kept the ball on the William Carey side for the majority of the final period. McDonald and freshman Meaghan Krawczyk had several near misses, while Split-Log made four key saves in the second half to keep the margin at one.

William Carey made several runs to the goal, but the Southeastern defensive backfield of senior Sarah Cheung, Heffner, sophomore Brittany Prieto and sophomore Nicole Brannigan kept the Lady Crusaders at bay. Bockhaus made a key save on a free kick by Natalia Nino to keep William Carey scoreless.

William Carey had one more chance to score in the final minute. A corner kick was placed very well by Nino, but Bockhaus secured the win by leaping high and punching the ball out, allowing Southeastern to clear it from the box and time to expire.

Southeastern will be back in action on Friday, when they open a two-match trip to Arkansas with a 7 p.m. match at Arkansas-Little Rock. On Sunday, the Lady Lions will be in Jonesboro, Ark. to face Arkansas State at 1 p.m.

WCC – 0 0 – 0 (0-2-1)
SLU – 1 0 – 1 (3-0-1)

Scoring Summary
1) 37:38 – SLU – Kristin McDonald (4) – Assist: Kyle MacIntosh

Shots – Southeastern Louisiana 12, William Carey 8
Saves – William Carey 8, Southeastern Louisiana 4
Corner Kicks – William Carey 4, Southeastern Louisiana 3
Fouls – William Carey 11, Southeastern Louisiana 9
Offsides – William Carey 2, Southeastern Louisiana 2