THIBODAUX, La. – The Nicholls State University women's soccer team scored two goals in the second half to defeat Southeastern 2-1 at Thibodaux Regional Sports Complex on Thursday night. The victory secured the Colonels' a spot in the 2026 Southland Conference Tournament that will begin next week.
Nicholls (6-6-6, 4-3-3) won the Crystal Cup for the second consecutive season and picked up a victory over Southeastern for the first time since 2014.
The six Red & Gray victories this season are the most by a Colonel squad since 2017 and the four SLC wins are the most by a Colonel squad since 2015. Nicholls made the SLC tournament by default in 2021, so this season marks the first time the Colonels have earned a spot in the league tournament since 2014.
Nicholls (6-6-6, 4-3-3) trailed at the intermission after Southeastern scored in the 31st minute. The Colonels' comeback began in the 58th minute when midfielder
Sammi Doyle set up
Kate Guillory with a long distance through ball. The excellent pass allowed Guillory to get past the defense and tie the match with her fourth goal of the season.
Nicholls took the lead in dramatic fashion as
Alyssa Wheeler sent a corner kick to the near post. The ball bounced around and eventually went off the shoulder of
Jezlyn Nelson and into the back of the net to give the Colonels the lead in the 78th minute.
SLU controlled the action early on as they took six shots in the first half. However, the Colonels flipped the script in the second stanza as they took four shots and allowed the Lions to take two. The Lions had six corner kicks in the first half and the Colonels had five in the second frame.
Nicholls goalkeeper
Aislinn Wright tallied four saves while SLU's Kendall Curran had three. For Wright her six victories this season are tied for the second most in a single season in program history.
Wheeler's assist also has some historical context as it gave her 23 points on the year which is the fourth most on the program single season list. Additionally, her seven assists tie her with Jess Coates, Tori Priddy, and Carolyn Noble for the most assists in a single season.
UP NEXT
Nicholls will travel to Commerce, Texas to compete in the 2026 Southland Conference Tournament. The Colonels are the five seed and will play against No.4 UIW on Tuesday Nov. 10 at noon. All of the matches during the SLC Tournament will be streamed via ESPN+.
