MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Second-seeded Life defeated top-seeded William Carey 1-0 to win the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) women’s soccer championship Saturday at Emory Folmar YMCA in Montgomery, Alabama.

The win snaps a six-year streak of the Crusaders holding the tournament championship trophy and is the first win for Life over William Carey in four of the last five finals.

"We've won a trophy now," said head coach Meg McGonigle on her program's first SSAC Championship. "These girls have been working, and they've put in so much work into getting this program from being a good program to being a program that's nationally recognized every year. Winning this trophy is just another step and another goal that we've ticked off."

Louise Martineau scored the only goal unassisted at 18:43. The shot came off a misplayed goal kick played back toward Alicia Garwood, setting Martineau up for a point-blank shot to score what would be the game-winner.

"That was from our coach," said Martineau. "She said we needed to be really hard on the first ball all night, and that's what I tried to do. We got the chance and that was what was most important."

Garwood stopped Martineau’s first shot on goal at 13:55 before Life broke through nearly five minutes later. Life outshot William Carey 7-2 in the first half, but Garwood kept the deficit at one goal with four saves before the break. That included stops against Martineau at 40:06 and Marey Helgadottir at 40:41.

Life continued to test Garwood early in the second half. Garwood denied Helgadottir at 49:45 and Linn Joelsson at 51:41, preventing Life from adding to its lead. Helgadottir put both of their shots on goal, while Joelsson’s lone attempt also required a save.

William Carey generated more pressure after halftime, holding a 6-5 edge in second-half shots. Life goalkeeper Elora Niederpruem made the first of four saves at 69:30 on an attempt by Kayla Martin. At the other end, Garwood denied Martineau at 73:54 for a seventh and final save. Martineau finished with six shots, including five on goal, accounting for half of Life’s attempts.

Niederpruem protected the narrow lead with two saves four seconds apart, stopping Luana Falconeri at 75:24 and Paola Alvarez at 75:28. Mia Encinia then tested Niederpruem at 85:38 with the final recorded attempt of the match, but Niederpruem made the save to complete a 90-minute shutout. Falconeri and Encinia each finished with two shots, including one on goal.

Life finished with a 12-8 advantage in shots and an 8-4 edge in shots on goal. William Carey put all four of its shots on target after halftime, forcing Niederpruem to make every save in the second half. Life also held a 9-5 advantage in corner kicks, taking four after the break to William Carey’s one.