BEAUMONT, Texas – Sophomore Mya Guillory's second goal of the match propelled the Southeastern Louisiana women's soccer team to a heart-stopping victory in double overtime over reigning Southland Conference champion Lamar, 3-2, Friday night at the Lamar Soccer Complex.
 
The 470 days without a match proved to be worth every second for the Lady Lions (1-0) as they fell behind 2-0 in the first 10 minutes of the match.
 
SLU, however, didn't panic. Guillory, out of Prairieville, Louisiana, scored her first goal on a penalty kick after sophomore Makenzie Maher was fouled in the box in the 14^th minute set up by a lead pass from junior Jamie Raines. Later in the half,  Maher scored on the lead from Guillory to tie the match at 2-2 in the 24^th minute.
 
"We faced a lot of adversity over the last year," said SLU head coach Chris McBride. "We wanted to emphasize being resilient all off-season and not to get down on ourselves if we got behind. We showed that tonight and I'm really proud of all the players."
 
Southeastern continued the pressure on the offensive end for the remainder of the half. Raines had a header from inside the box sail just inches over the net in the 21^st minute. The Covington, Louisiana native also got a good look from 20 yards out in the 34^th minute but the ball was tipped by Lamar goalkeeper Nicole Panis and deflected over the crossbar to keep the game tied at 2-2.
 
SLU's goalkeeper Nadine Maher made a couple of fantastic plays of her own to keep the game tied at halftime. The Dublin, Ireland native snagged a header attempt from Lamar's Abby Gemza off a corner kick in the 19^th minute. Maher also denied Lamar's Esther Okoronkwo, the Southland's all-time single-season goals recorder holder (25 goals in 2019), on a free kick from 30 yards out in the 37^th minute. The Lions' senior deflected the topspin shot from Okoronkwo preventing it from going in the back-left corner of the net for the save.
 
The Lady Lions outshot the Cardinals 9-7 in the first half with each team getting four shots on goal.
 
Both teams clamped down defensively in the second half as the two teams combined for 10 shots, five on goal, as the game went to overtime.
 
In the first overtime, the Lady Lions spent much of the period on the defense as Lamar had possession on SLU's side of the field for seven of the 10 minutes. But Southeastern's backline refused to break, forcing double overtime and setting the stage for Guillory's heroics.
 
In the 102^nd minute, Guillory got open in front of the net and took the cross from Ellie Williams 25 yards out from the far sideline. After Guillory's first shot was deflected by Panis, she drilled the loose ball into the bottom-right corner of the net for the win as the Lady Lions stormed the field in celebration.
 
"Ellie did a great job of getting the ball into the right spot," said McBride. "And then Mya did the rest. It was a great way to finish an exceptional game which was by far the most exciting of my career here."
 
Guillory finished with two goals, an assist, eight shots and six on goal. Raines added three shots while junior Claire Huston had two. Nadine Maher finished with five saves to aid the Lady Lions.
 
Southeastern outshot Lamar (1-1, 0-1 Southland), 18-14, and had 11 on goal to the Cardinals' seven. SLU's victory handed Lamar its first home conference loss since Oct. 23, 2016.
 
"Of course, this is a great win," said McBride. "But we still have to remain focused and remember its just one game to build on. We've got another good opponent coming to our place next week and we need to be ready for that."
 
Next up, the Lady Lions will have a week off before the home opener against Sam Houston (0-1) Friday, Feb. 19 at 7 p.m. in Strawberry Stadium.
 
SCORE ONE MORE CLUB/S CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the women's soccer program are encouraged to join the Score One More Club.  Lion alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners. All membership fees and donations to Score One More Club are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern soccer program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091 or visiting www.LionUp.com.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Southeastern Soccer, follow @LionUpSoccer and @chrismcbride88 on Twitter, like /SLUathletics on Facebook and subscribe to the SLUathletics YouTube channel.
 
TICKETS
For ticket information, please contact the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466 or visit www.LionSports.net/tickets. Southeastern is implementing mobile ticketing as the primary source for securing tickets for the 2020-21 season. All tickets will be available via e-mail in a PDF format for fans to download on their phone or print at home. Tickets can also be downloaded to Apple Wallet.