No. 10 Southeastern Sits Atop The Sun Conference After Rout of Florida Memorial
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla.- The No. 10 Southeastern University men’s soccer team defeated the Florida Memorial University Lions 9-3 this evening in their regular season finale. With the win, the Fire earned the title of 2019 Sun Conference Regular Season Champions, with a 7-1-1 record in league play.
“It has been a fantastic season,” shared SEU head coach Clay Roberts. “This milestone has been earned and I cannot be more proud for their efforts.”
This marks the second TSC Regular Season Title in program history and the first since 2015.
Six of the nine SEU goals were scored by three players, as the Fire received multi-hat trick efforts from junior midfielder Skylar Funk and graduate forward Jake Van Der Luit.
The Fire struck first in the 19th minute, as graduate midfielder Chase Hovious netted his fourth goal of the season. Van Der Luit’s first goal of the night in the 21st minute and a goal by senior forward Craig Barker in the 28th minute quickly put the Fire ahead 3-0.
The Lions answered in the 28th minute with a goal by Caleb Acosta to cut the deficit to 3-1.
SEU responded with a score by Funk in the 31st minute which was answered by FMU via Jose Romero in the 39th minute. Funk registered his second goal of the night, and Southeastern’s fifth of the first half, as time expired to earn the Fire a 5-2 advantage heading into the half.
The Fire opened up the second half with four unanswered goals. Barker scored his second of the day in the 57th minute, while Van Der Luit recorded his second goal of the day in the 62nd minute.
Van Der Luit notched the hat trick in the 85th minute and pushed his season goal total to 20. The Chicago native is now one goal away from tying the single-season program record.
Funk logged his hat trick with 37 seconds remaining in the contest to push his season goal total to seven.
“This is a team that is together and ready for the next phase as we enter the conference tournament,” added Coach Roberts. “We will enjoy this championship and get ready for the tournament.”
The Fire receive a bye in The Sun Conference Tournament to the semifinals on Tuesday November 12 with opponent to be determined.