Box Score

HAMMOND – Playing in the final home match of their career, all four Southeastern Louisiana seniors scored a goal or recorded an assist, as the Lady Lions closed out the 2009 regular season with a 4-0 victory over Lamar in Southland Conference women's soccer action Sunday afternoon at the Southeastern Soccer Complex.

Seniors Candice Wallace and Gloria Burkhart each scored a goal and added an assist for Southeastern (12-4-1, 6-1-1 SLC), while fellow seniors Dana Mayer and Jenna Oney were each credited with assists. Freshman Karly Dagys knocked in the final two goals for the Lady Lions and junior Nicole Brannigan and freshman Kerry McWhirter were both credited with assists, as Southeastern knocked Lamar (4-13-1, 3-6 SLC) from Southland Conference Tournament contention.

With the victory, Southeastern clinched the second seed and a first-round bye in the Southland Conference Tournament, scheduled to run Thursday through Sunday next week in Natchitoches. Southeastern will play Friday at 4:30 p.m., facing the winner of Thursday's first round match between third-seeded Stephen F. Austin and sixth-seeded McNeese State at 4:30 p.m. Should the Lady Lions win on Friday, they would advance to Sunday's final round at 1 p.m. with a berth in the NCAA Tournament on the line.

“We had a great team effort today and this win is a great way to send out our seniors and serves as great preparation for the Southland Conference Tournament,” Southeastern head coach Blake Hornbuckle said. “We defended well collectively and our four seniors, along with Karly and (freshman) Maiya Cooper were driving forces in our attack. We did a great job of creating scoring chances and more importantly finishing those opportunities. Lacey Bockhaus was tremendous in goal for us. She made good decisions and continues to be a rock for us in the net.

“Our senior class has shined during their four years in our program,” Hornbuckle added. “They have exceeded our expectations, did the things necessary to be successful and displayed the ability to bounce back from adversity. We're going to miss Gloria's strong left foot and her ability to create scoring opportunities. Jenna's drive and determination will also be sorely missed. We will miss the workrate, leadership and ability to slice through the defense of Candice. Dana is the consummate student-athlete, who is an extremely bright player and will be missed for her willingness and desire to put the team's interests first.”

With six assists in the match, Southeastern set a new single-season school record with 55 assists on the year, as the Lady Lions finished the regular season having outscored their competition, 53-9. Ranking among the national leaders in scoring offense and defense, the Lady Lions have 11 shutouts on the year. Bockhaus, who finished with four saves on Sunday, has 10 shutouts - besting the nine she had as a freshman in 2008 - to go with a 0.53 goals against average.

The first goal of the match was set up by a strong attack from the Lady Lions and a fine defensive effort by Lamar. With just under seven minutes gone by, Dagys beat Lamar goalkeeper Jennifer Gibbs but her shot was blocked by a Lamar defender. The rebound fell at the feet of Cooper, but her shot attempt also was knocked away by a Lady Cardinal back, though it did set up a corner kick for Southeastern.

Burkhart played a nice ball to the back side and Wallace headed it in for a 1-0 Southeastern lead. The goal was the sixth of the season for the Guelph, Ont. native and the 20th of her career, making her the second student-athlete in school history, along with Southeastern Hall of Famer Becca Weingartner to reach both the 20-goal and 20-assist marks in a career.

Wallace also moved past former Lady Lion Ashley Strine into fifth place in school history with 63 career points and also entered the top five in school history with the sixth game-winning goal of her career. The assist was the eighth of the season for Burkhart, which represents the sixth-highest single-season total in school history.

Southeastern doubled its lead in the 10th minute. After a Lamar foul near midfield, sophomore Kyle MacIntosh played a free kick that was run down by Oney. Oney sent a pass to a charging Mayer from the back and Mayer found a wide-open Burkhart, who charged in and drilled a shot past Gibbs for her third goal of the season and a 2-0 lead that the Lady Lions would maintain until halftime.

Southeastern put any chances of a Lamar comeback to rest 15 minutes into the second half. Brannigan used her strong right leg to drill a shot from the back that Dagys ran down and finished to push the Lady Lion advantage to 3-0.

Dagys capped the scoring in the 81st minute. Wallace started the run by taking a ball from a Lamar player and pushing the ball into the Cardinal side of the field. She then found a streaking McWhirter on the right flank. McWhirter hit a high ball that bounced over the Lamar defense, allowing Dagys to have an uncontested shot into the net. The seventh goal of the season – and fourth in Southland play – by the Oakville, Ont. native pushed Southeastern's final margin to 4-0. The assist allowed Wallace to become the fifth student-athlete in school history with nine or more assists in a season and gave her 23 assists for her career – two off the school's career record held by Weingartner.

All of the Southland Conference Tournament's action will be streamed live at www.Southland.org. The championship match will air live on the Southland Conference Television Network, available on Charter Channel 22 in the Hammond area.