Ladyjacks Kick off SLC Tournament
11/1/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Nov. 1, 2006
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjack soccer team heads to San Marcos, Texas, this weekend, for the Southland Conference Tournament, in search of the second NCAA Championships berth in program history. No. 3 seed SFA (9-7-1, 5-2-1) kicks off tournament play Thursday night with a 6:30 p.m. game against No. 6 McNeese State. Fourth-ranked Northwestern State will meet No. 5 Texas State in the other first-round game, scheduled for 4 p.m. Thursday. The winners will advance to Friday's semifinals where No. 1 Southeastern Louisiana and No. 2 Texas-San Antonio await. The championship game is scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m.
Last Week: The Ladyjacks defeated Texas State, 4-2, on Senior Day in the regular-season finale. The highlight of the game was senior Andrea Ramirez' game-clinching goal in the 89th minute. It was the injury-plagued midfielder's first career goal. Sophomore Lauren Fricks added two first-half goals, and classmate Amanda Alders built on her team and conference lead in goals by scoring her 11th of the season.
SFA vs. the Field: SFA is 41-26-15 all-time against the 2006 SLC Tournament field. The Ladyjacks are 14-4-2 all-time against McNeese State. SFA trails the series with Texas State, 5-8-2. SFA holds an 11-6-6 advantage over Northwestern State. The Ladyjacks are 0-1-0 against Texas-San Antonio and 11-7-5 against Southeastern Louisiana. UTSA is the only squad to defeat SFA this season.
SFA in the SLC Tournament: The Ladyjacks have qualified for Southland Conference Tournament play in eight of the tournament's 10 years of existence. SFA has only missed the event in 2000 and 2002. This year's appearance is the Ladyjacks' fourth straight. SFA's best tournament showing came in 2003, when the Ladyjacks posted back-to-back 2-0 shutouts, defeating Texas State in the semifinals and Southeastern Louisiana in the championship game to reach the NCAA Championships for the first time in school history. SFA is 3-6 (.333) all-time in the SLC Tournament with two trips to the championship game. The last time the tournament was held in San Marcos, in 2001, the Ladyjacks were defeated by host team Texas State, 1-0, in the first round. A complete bracket for this year's tournament can be found in the side bar of the women's soccer home page.
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