Senior defender Kim Porche scored her first goal since 2015 and was honored along with Lauren Babcock and Maddie Kresevic on senior day prior to the game against Northwestern State University.
Jonathan Rhodes/The Lion's Roar

The Lady Lions soccer team won one of their two final home games of the season, the first one being a 3-1 victory against Northwestern State University. The second game against the University of Central Arkansas ended in a 1-0 loss.

The victory against Northwestern State ended a three-game losing streak for the Lady Lions. Despite the one loss, Head Coach Christopher McBride is proud of the effort from the Lady Lions in their final two games at home.

“It was unbelievable,” said McBride. “We said, ‘Let’s not leave that field unworked.’ We said, ‘Don’t quit,’ and we didn’t quit at all. We fought for every ball, every first ball and every second ball. It was a good performance tonight. We did really well. It was a good performance, but not the right result.”

The Lady Lions are currently in 10th place in the Southland Conference and need to be in eighth place to make it to the Southland Conference Tournament. They will have one last chance to squeeze into the postseason by defeating Nicholls State University this Friday.

“I think if we take care of business Friday, we’ll just have to wait on one result to go in our favor, and if that happens then things will work out,” said McBride. “It’s so competitive you just don’t know what could happen. There were some results today that went the way that we didn’t expect it, so anything can happen.”

Seniors defender Kim Porche, midfielder Maddie Kresevic and midfielder Lauren Babcock were honored before the game against Northwestern State. Porche scored one of the three goals in the game, which was her first goal since her freshman season, and she set a career best with two assists.

Porche was glad to be honored for her four years playing for the university.

“It was really nice,” said Porche. “The coaches and our teammates really worked hard to make it special. So, thanks to them, it was really amazing, and it felt great after all of my time here. They did a phenomenal job for us.”

Kresevic has enjoyed her four years playing for the Lady Lions and will miss the days she spent playing here.

“It was sad because this has been a great experience playing for Southeastern for four years,” said Kresevic. “I know we like to say, ‘Lion for Life,’ and I take that to heart because being a part of this is something more than just playing for a team.”

The other two goals scored against Northwestern State were by sophomore forward Amber Marinero who scored her third goal of the season and redshirt freshman midfielder Alexandra Gundersen, who scored her first goal of her career.

In the game against Central Arkansas, freshman goalkeeper Michaela Hawthorn had 10 saves. The defense held the game scoreless up until the 74th minute in the game.

The players believe that they can still make it to the Southland Conference Tournament and extend their season.

“We’re gonna do everything in our power to get that last spot,” said Kresevic. “In the end, what matters is that we give it our all. We know what is on the line. We have to go out with the same energy, and hopefully, we can make it to the tournament.”