HAMMOND – Southeastern Louisiana senior Gisenia Utreras posted her first career hat trick to fuel a 7-1 Lady Lion victory over Incarnate Word in Southland Conference women's soccer action Friday night at Strawberry Stadium.
 
Southeastern (7-1-1, 2-0 Southland) ran its current win streak to three matches and extended its unbeaten streak to six with Friday's runaway win. Incarnate Word dropped to 2-8 overall and 0-2 in league play.
 
"To come out like we did today, we were extremely pleased with the effort tonight," Southeastern head coach Blake Hornbuckle said. "We played with a great mentality and were able to create so many opportunities in the first half and were fortunate to be able to finish those chances."
 
Utreras led the Southeastern attack with three goals and added an assist. Freshman Sofia Olsson added a goal and an assist, while sophomore Maggie Ramsey, junior Bri Singh and freshman Vanessa Arzaluz also found the net. Senior Kayla Vera, senior Maddie Allen, sophomore Lauren Babcock, sophomore Ana Zadro  and sophomore Kim Porche were also credited with assists for SLU in its highest scoring output of the 2015 season.
 
Utreras' big night was the latest in a breakout senior season for the Brampton, Ontario, Canada native. Through the season's first nine matches, Utreras leads the team with seven goals and seven assists.
 
"You can see Gisenia's results in the statistics, but what isn't seen is the work she does on her own," Hornbuckle said. "She works countless hours to raise her game to the next level. She's been a constant engine that never stops in the midfield. She's so quick and explosive going to goal and is technically very talented. When you put that all together, Gisenia's just very hard to defend."
 
Utreras' hat trick was the 26^th in school history, but the first by a Lady Lion since Maiya Cooper and Kelsey Salcido each posted three goals in a 9-0 win over Grambling on Sept. 18, 2011. Salcido was one of the approximately 40 former student-athletes who were honored at halftime as part of the kickoff of Alumni Weekend.
 
"It was just a great evening overall," Hornbuckle said. "It was an absolute joy to see all our former players back with their families to spend a night watching great soccer and see what they helped build."
 
Southeastern wasted no time taking the lead for good in the 10^th minute. Vera played a ball ahead from just across midfield that Olsson was able to run down and beat UIW senior goalkeeper Karly Brightwell for a 1-0 lead. The goal was the third of the season for the Lysekil, Sweden native.
 
SLU added to its lead in the 18^th minute. A UIW foul resulted in an Utreras free kick from just outside the box. Utreras put the shot on frame, but Brightwell turned it away. However, Ramsey was right there to put in the deflection and give the Lady Lions a 2-0 advantage with her fourth goal of the season.
 
In the 26^th minute, Allen played a ball through that Utreras was able to deposit in the back of the net for a commanding 3-0 lead.
 
Singh would close out the first half scoring less than 10 minutes later. The Lancaster, California native took a pass from Zadro and scored her third goal of the season to put the Lady Lions up, 4-0, heading into halftime.
 
The highlight of the night led to the second half's first goal and a 5-0 Lady Lion lead. Babcock tossed an inbounds pass to Olsson, who with a defender on her back and facing away from the goal, played a backward pass to Utreras, who rifled a shot in from the right side of the net.
 
Olsson's aggression led to Southeastern's next goal. After beating a UIW defender, she had a clear path to the goal, but was taken down from behind. The foul led to a Lady Lion penalty kick, which Utreras easily deposited into the upper right corner of the net for a 6-0 Southeastern cushion.
 
Incarnate Word avoided the shutout in the 67^th minute. Freshman Sabrina Martineau lobbed a shot from 25 yards out that sailed over a leaping Hope Sabadash to cut the Southeastern margin to 6-1.
 
Arzaluz closed out the scoring in the 86^th minute. Porche beat a UIW defender and played a ball through to Arzaluz and the Sparks, Nevada native scored her third goal of the season to provide the final 7-1 margin. The seven goals were the most SLU has scored against a Southland Conference opponent since a 10-0 win over Nicholls State on Oct. 23, 1998.
 
Southeastern will look to continue its roll on Sunday, when it closes out Alumni Weekend with a 1 p.m. match versus Abilene Christian at Strawberry Stadium. Any former Southeastern players in attendance will be recognized at halftime. Admission to all Southeastern home soccer matches is free.