MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Millene Cabral delivered her 10th hat trick of the season on the biggest stage as the junior forward three goals and rallied No. 1 Martin Methodist to a 4-2 victory over No. 4 William Carey (Miss.) University in the Southern States Athletic Conference Women's Soccer Championship presented by Newk's Eatery Friday afternoon.
In one of the wildest games in recent history, the RedHawks (20-1) avenged their only regular-season loss with a come-from-behind victory over the third-seeded Crusaders (16-2).
After the RedHawks appeared to enjoy the greater chunk of possession to start the contest, William Carey opened the scoring with a 13th minute goal from forward Jamie Holifield.
Cabral and the RedHawks answered just 45 seconds later, however, as she finished a strong build-up between fellow forwards Miku Sunaga and Katie Reid. Reid worked her way into possession outside the box, played a pass to the right to Sunaga, who then passed back to Cabral on the left for the tap-in goal.
Holifield would strike the RedHawks again in the first half, but this time as a helper as she funneled a pass to Ana Paula Santos that the midfielder headed home to put William Carey ahead by a 2-1 margin.
Trailing for the first time all season at halftime, the RedHawks began to turn the tide early in the second half when the Crusaders were whistled for a handball in the penalty box in the 55th minute. Cabral stepped up and delivered a right-footed shot into the bottom left corner to draw the match level for the second time of the afternoon.
Playing with renewed confidence, the RedHawks broke the game open in the 70th minute when Hikaru Nakamura whipped a cross to the feet of Miku Sunaga, who turned and slotted a pass to a streaking Cabral. Cabral would not disappoint as she rifled a shot into the bottom right corner that gave the RedHawks their first lead of the day.
William Carey mounted one final offensive surge, however, as Ana Paula Santos fired a point-blank shot at goal, but RedHawk goalkeeper Caitlin Dumond dove to her right and grabbed possession to deny an almost assured goal-scoring opportunity.
With the Crusaders desperately seeking a game-tying goal, the RedHawks broke free in the attacking zone and sophomore midfielder Riko Sagara floated a shot into the upper-right corner of the net to put the RedHawks ahead for good with a 4-2 lead.
"The ladies wanted this match desperately after we suffered a tough loss to (William Carey) at home," RedHawks head coach Will Austin said. "I could not be more proud of their fight and determination here this afternoon. Playing against one of the best sides in the country and they battled back twice to the tie it up. Millene gets a lot of well-deserved credit, but this was truly a team effort tonight. Riko had an absolutely sensational goal and Caitlin had an unbelievable save. I am almost at a loss for words I am so proud of their effort tonight."
After the contest, Cabral was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player and teammates Nakamura, Dumond, Sagara and Sunaga were also named to the 11-member All-Tournament team.
With the win, the RedHawks pulled off the double after they claimed the regular-season conference title via goal differential over University of Mobile (Ala.) and William Carey. The title is the first ever SSAC postseason crown for the program and the program's first tournament title since the RedHawks defeated Rocky Mountain College in the TranSouth/Frontier Championship in 2012.
The RedHawks will now head to their 14th consecutive national tournament, with the 32-team field set to be unveiled on Monday, Nov. 13.
"When you get to the national tournament all bets are off," Austin said. "Your season can end in the blink of an eye. We will take a few days to rest and enjoy this special win, but then it is right back to work and get ready for whomever we get paired with on Monday's selection show. We know it will be a tough opponent regardless and will have a tough match next Saturday at Grissom Pitch in the opening round."
