Freshman lifts Redhawks with hat trick

~ Courtney Alexander netted her first three goals at Southeast in a 3-0 victory over Troy.

Courtney Alexander would have been happy to simply score her first collegiate goal.

But the freshman forward didn't stop there. She came up with a hat trick Sunday afternoon, leading Southeast Missouri State to a 3-0 victory over Troy at Houck Stadium.

"It's definitely nice and hopefully it will keep coming," Alexander said. "But it's all about the team. I couldn't do it without them."

Alexander, from the Kansas City suburb of Liberty, Mo., scored all three of her goals in the second half as the Redhawks evened their record at 2-2. Troy fell to 1-3-1.

Southeast dominated the contest from start to finish but could not capitalize for the first 54 minutes of play.

Finally, about nine minutes into the second half, Alexander found the back of the net off an assist from Margie Schaeffler.

It remained 1-0 until the final four minutes, when Alexander added some insurance.

First, with 3:05 remaining, she scored on a penalty kick. Then, with only 31 seconds to play, she scored on a breakaway as Jessica Kaiz and Lauren Costello received assists.

"I was happy for Courtney getting a hat trick, and she provided the offensive spark that we've been looking for this season," Southeast coach Heather Nelson said. "She gets herself into good positions to cause problems. She's got a lot of heart.

"I thought Casey Kraft also played well for us today, as she controlled the center of the field."

The Redhawks held a 12-1 advantage in shots. Southeast goalkeeper Lindsay Pickering needed to make just one save for her second shutout of the season.

Southeast outshot the visitors from Alabama 5-0 in the first half and narrowly missed scoring several times. Trojans keeper Jennifer Currie was credited with six saves in the contest.

"We probably should have had at least five goals," said Nelson, whose squad snapped a two-game losing streak. "But it's good to win."

Said Alexander: "It was a good team effort, especially in the second half. We really stepped it up."

While the Redhawks are not off to a particularly strong start -- they had scored only three goals in three matches prior to Sunday -- Alexander believes they'll soon become a dangerous team.

"Once we jell and play more games, we'll be hard to beat," she said.

Southeast returns to action Thursday with a 7 p.m. game at Memphis. The Redhawks' next home match will be Saturday at 7 p.m. against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.