Canes Extend Winning Streak, Defeat Southeastern Louisiana 4-1
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Kyla Gallagher scored two girls, Ciara Alarcon recorded her the first goal of her collegiate career, and the University of Miami soccer team (3-2-1) earned a dominant 4-1 victory over Southeastern Louisiana (1-2-1) Thursday evening, marking their third consecutive victory to close out the non-conference portion of the schedule.
“I’m proud of our response in the second half tonight,” said Head Coach Ken Masuhr. “After we scored early, I felt our group didn’t quite meet the expectations that we set out for ourselves and our halftime talk reflected that. We responded and scored some very good goals. We also were able to get a number of players their first collegiate minutes. It was exciting to watch and I am looking forward to carrying this momentum into ACC play.”
The four goals scored by the Hurricanes are the most in a match since 2021, and the three-game winning streak for Miami is the program’s longest winning streak since 2017.
Gallagher got things going early for the Canes, as three minutes into the match Tori Grambo received a pass from Julia Edwards on the left side of the field and dribbled all the way down to the end line, before playing a tremendous cross in the center of the box. The low pass came in fast towards Gallagher and she played it perfectly, finishing off the cross with a beautiful one-touch shot that found the back of the net to give Miami a 1-0 lead. The goal was Gallagher’s first of the season, as well as Grambo’s first assist of the 2024 campaign.
Southeastern Louisiana responded in the 23rd minute, scoring a goal of their own to even the match. Both squads went scoreless over the remainder of the period, as the two teams entered halftime deadlocked at 1-1.
Miami came out with high intensity off the first kick to begin the second period. Less than a minute into the half, Giovana Canali chased down a long pass on the right side of the box and played a dangerous ball across the middle that bounced off a Lions defender and went into the net, as the Canes retook the lead.
Soon after, Gallagher found herself on the edge of the box with the ball; and, after a deflection on a pass, the ball rolled in the direction of Ciara Alarcon who was nearly five yards outside of the box. Alarcon stepped up and ripped an incredible one-touch shot that soared over the goalkeeper and landed in the upper right third of the net, marking the first goal of her collegiate career and extending the Miami advantage to 3-1.
The Canes did not let up, as they continued to put the pressure on Southeastern Louisiana, and in the 71st minute they were rewarded once again. Similar to the first goal of the match, Grambo took the ball down the left side of the field before playing a pass into the middle near the end line. Grambo’s pass was deflected, and Gallagher sprinted past a Lions defender and drilled a stellar one-touch shot that flew past the SLU goalkeeper and into the net for her second goal of the night, as the Canes took a 4-1 lead.
Miami maintained their lead and went on to earn the 4-1 victory over Southeastern Louisiana, as they increased their winning streak and continued building momentum in preparation for the commencement of conference play next week.
The Canes recorded 25 shots, nine of which were on frame, while Southeastern Louisiana tallied two shots, both of which were on frame.
Miami is slated to return to the field next Thursday, September 12, as they are scheduled to open ACC play against Virginia at home with the match set to begin at 7 p.m.
