The Lady Lions improved to 4-1-1 with wins over the University of Louisiana-Monroe and Mississippi Valley State University. Junior forward Maiya Cooper scored four goals, including a hat trick against the MSVU Devilettes.

Senior midfielder/defender Kyle Macintosh was optimistic about the road trip.

“I think this away trip is really going to help because we’re going to be away for the whole weekend rather than just a day trip, so we’ll have those overnights where we can all come together, and hang out a little bit more than we already do,” said Macintosh.

The Lady Lions arrived in Monroe, the third destination of their four game road trip, on Friday, Sept. 9. Southeastern jumped to an early lead by scoring two goals in the first seven minutes, with goals from Cooper and sophomore forward/midfielder Kelsey Salcido. Senior midfielder/defender Kyle Macintosh put the finishing touches on the match, scoring in the fifty first minute of play. Sophomore forward Jaci Teresinski saw her first game as goalkeeper, notching five saves and her first win. Junior midfielder Karly Dagys posted her seventeenth career assist, which moved her into a tie for fifth all-time, according to lionsports.net. Dagys also scored her forty-seventh point, and moved into a tie for tenth all-time. Cooper moved into a tie for fifth all time on the same list, with her sixty-third career point.

“This week of practice has been a step up for us,” said Macintosh. “With all the rain this weekend we had a lot of team meetings rather than playing outside and we all seem to be coming together and talking about our strengths and weaknesses and just having conversations amongst the team.”

The Lady Lions final game came against the Devilettes of MSVU, on the tenth anniversary of 9/11. Though the game ended in a 4-0 win in favor of Southeastern, the memory of that day was not lost.

“It’s not a big step for me in the day, but it always brings up those memories of what you were doing in the day, and the people who were affected by it and their families,” said Macintosh, before the road trip began. “I think everyone will have a chip on their shoulder. Not just our team, but the other team as well.”

Cooper finished the game with her third career hat trick, while junior midfielder Kerry McWhirter scored one goal. Dagys finished with two assists, while junior forward/midfielder Lauren Stillians and freshman midfielder Jen Babcock had one assist each.

The Lady Lions struggled on the road for their first two games, but finished the road trip strong with these two wins.

“We were missing a few key players in the game last Friday in the game against Southern Miss, and we were actually missing one or two in the game against Lafayette,” said head coach Blake Hornbuckle. “It gave some of our other players time on the field, which is going to help us as the year progresses.”

Southeastern leads the Southland Conference, edging out Central Arkansas and Stephen F. Austin. Cooper is second in the conference with 10 goals scored.