MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Lady Crusaders made it five in a row as they claimed the SSAC Tournament Championship with a 3-1 win over U.T. Southern.
 
William Carey & U.T. Southern are two teams that know each other extremely well. They have faced each other many times over the years and have watched countless hours of film on each other in preparation. In a match that could easily be seen again in an NAIA National Tournament final, the Lady Crusaders and the Lady Firehawks knew this would be a tough affair and would be forced to work for a result.
 
Despite giving up a shot on goal and a corner in the opening five minutes, it was Carey that took the early lead. The ball found Virginia Mesa high on the right-hand side who got her head up and spotted Rocio Fernandez beyond the far post. Mesa's cross found the feet of Fernandez, who brought the ball under her spell, and rifled the ball low towards the front post giving U.T. Southern goalkeeper Stephanie Hodgson no chance.
 
Not five minutes later and Fernandez, and Carey, had their second. A Karen Vilau corner was cleared and kept alive. Carey worked the ball out wide and swung another cross into the box. The resulting clearance fell to the feet of Fernandez who struck the ball on the half-volley into the net courtesy of a deflection off a U.T. Southern defender.
 
Both teams went back and forth, Carey trying to extend their lead and solidify their footing in the game, and U.T. Southern trying to cut the deficit and find a way back into the game. Carey had the chance to extend their lead to three in the 24^th minute with what could have been one of the Lady Crusader's best goals of the season. Christina Salmon picked the ball up 30 yards out from goal. A combination of speed, strength, and fancy footwork allowed Salmon to dribble past four defenders before firing inches wide of the left-hand post.
 
The Lady Firehawks found their goal and halved the deficit a few minutes before half time. Keito Ido picked up the ball in the middle of the Carey half. Ido then played a couple of one-twos with Nao Katamoto & Hikaru Uchida before finding herself on the left-hand side of Carey's penalty area. Ido showed off her quick feet, beating the Carey defender, and firing across goal into the far top corner to score the best goal of the night.
 
Both teams came out of half time with the same fight and intensity they showed in the first half. With one goal the difference, Carey knew one mistake could level the game and U.T. Southern knew that they only needed one chance to put them back on terms.
 
Maclani Michael tried to do her best Christina Salmon impression and thought she had found the equalizer. Michael, picking the ball up outside the Carey penalty area, used her pace and power to drive past four Carey defenders and fire at goal. Whereas Salmon fired wide in the first half, Michael found her effort thwarted by Argentina Estrada's sliding block. The rebound fell to Michael who fired off again, only this time to be denied by goal scorer turned goal saver, Rocio Fernandez.
 
As the second half gained pace, so did the Lady Firehawks. U.T. Southern picked up momentum and took control of the half. Corner after corner, shot after shot, they went in search of the equalizer. Despite all the knocking, the Lady Crusaders refused to open the door. Carey stayed strong defensively and refused to give in to the pressure, protecting their one goal lead.
 
The Lady Crusaders went into the final minutes of the game trying to bleed the clock and see out the result. With 51 seconds left on the clock, Salmon ensured the SSAC Women's Soccer Championship will be coming back to Hattiesburg for the fifth straight year. A 50-50 challenge between Estrada and Kira Goodwin ricocheted to Salmon just inside her own half. With plenty of real estate and only two defenders between her and the goal, Salmon was off. Striding past both defenders, Salmon found herself one-on-one with Hodgson. Salmon took a touch round the U.T. Southern keeper and slotted the ball into the empty net. Salmon sent the Lady Crusaders and their fans into a state of Euphoria as they now knew they had claimed the title.
 
Nerea Pallas Padilla put in her best performance of the season in their biggest game of the season so far. Padilla doubled her season record for saves in a game, making eight saves on the night to help ensure Carey claimed the championship.
 
"I'm happy for the team" expressed Head Coach Danny Owens. "It was well deserved and a total team effort against a really strong U.T. Southern team who'll make a deep run into the National Tournament."
Owen's speaks on his season overall " It's part of our journey and goals we set for ourselves and I'm looking forward to the next chapter of our season with this team."
 
With the win, Carey claims an automatic berth for the 2024 NAIA National Championship as the 2024 SSAC Tournament Champions. They now wait eagerly to find out who they play. They will host either a two or three team bracket with those brackets set to get underway November 21^st.