Sunday night, Lady Lions soccer (6-9-1, 4-4-1 SLC) defeated the Nicholls Colonels (1-17, 0-9 SLC) 2-0 on Senior Night to claim the Crystal Cup. 

With the win, the Green and Gold clinched their spot in the Southland Conference tournament, where they can bring back the Southland title to Hammond, America. 

Three seasons ago, the Lady Lions won the 2020 SLC championship with a 3-0 victory over Sam Houston. Senior midfielder Hailee Yoder and defender Emma Jones were crucial players in their title win, with Yoder scoring one out of the three goals for SLU. Now, both players have a chance to indulge in one last championship run. 

“It’s a great feeling. I’m happy we finally get to go to the conference tournament. We’re finally coming out and peaking at a great point,” redshirt senior forward Hanna Moffatt said. 

Moffatt scored the first goal for the Lady Lions. After SLU’s original shot attempt was blocked by Colonels’ redshirt freshman goalie Megan Cook, the ball was left rolling unattended. 

The California native raced in and delivered a kick to give SLU a 1-0 advantage at the 29th-minute mark of the first half; Yoder assisted Moffatt on the play. 

The remainder of the first half was uneventful as Southeastern missed its next four shots, but with strong defense managed to hold Nicholls scoreless. 

The Lady Lions’ defense continued to impress in the second period as they held Nicholls goalless for the 13th time this season in a match. Junior goalkeeper Olivia Griffin thwarted all three shot attempts made by the Colonels.

With just nine seconds left in the match, graduate student midfielder Mya Guillory struck gold with another goal to give SLU a 2-0 lead. Guillory pierced the right side of the net for the point and, inevitably, the win. Jones assisted Guillory in the play. 

Jones, Moffat, Yoder and Guillory all played key roles for Southeastern over the last four years. Their impact on the field is immeasurable, and they will leave behind exceptional legacies for the Lady Lion soccer program. 

“I’ve said it to multiple people already; they’re an important and difficult group to replace. They’ve all won a conference championship. Jones was Freshman of the Year during our run, and Guillory is probably the most dangerous player in the Southland. Teams always come up to us and say how hard she plays. And Moffat came during the COVID year and has really stepped up this season,” Head Coach Nathan Gillespie said. 

The Lady Lions will travel to Beaumont, Texas, on Friday, Oct. 27 to tangle with the Lamar University Cardinals. 

The Cardinals are 13-2-2 (8-0-1 SLC) with sole possession of the No. 1 seed in the Southland Conference. Earlier this year, Lamar eked out a 1-0 win against Southeastern. With a record of 3-0-1 in their last four games, the Green and Gold will look to even the playing field before heading into the SLC tournament.

“We knew we could win tonight and took care of business. Most importantly, we qualified for the conference tournament. We’ve got a week to prepare for Lamar, and hopefully, we can get a win to send us into the tournament on the right foot,” Gillespie said.  

The two rivals will face off at 7 p.m. on ESPN+. For more information on the Lady Lions, visit The Lion’s Roar.