Stephen F. Austin
Southeastern Louisiana
SFA Falls In Shootout
11/6/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Nov. 6, 2008
LAKE CHARLES, La. - After 110 minutes and nine shootout attempts, Stephen F. Austin got one last chance to extend its 2008 soccer season with a shot from senior Amanda Lackey. But Southeastern Louisiana goalkeeper Lacey Bockhaus guessed correctly on the attempt and made a sprawling save to preserve her team's 3-2 advantage in the shootout Thursday night at the Ward 3 Sports Complex. The Lions advance to meet Texas State in the semifinals of the Southland Conference Tournament, while the Ladyjacks saw their season come to a close.
SFA, the tournament's No. 4 seed, finishes the season with a 9-7-2 overall record, while No. 5 Southeastern moves to 11-5-2 on the year. The shootout was the first in SLC Tournament history for the Ladyjacks.
"The players gave everything, we had the right game plan, we played well enough to win it -- it just wasn't our day," said SFA head coach George Van Linder.
Sophomore goalkeeper Courtney Bauder set a new career-high with 12 saves during the four timed periods of play to send the game to a shootout. Once there, she made another critical stop to give her team a chance, after the Ladyjacks misfired on their first two attempts.
The Lions put their first two shots in the net to take a 2-0 lead in the shootout. But Bauder stoned Brittany Flores on the third Lions attempt, and SFA tied the count when it sandwiched goals by Camille Royer and Edwina Forbes around a Jenna Oney miss for Southeastern.
Candice Wallace connected on the Lions' final attempt in the first shootout rotation, leaving SFA with one shot to tie it. Lackey lined up a solid right-footed shot, chest-high to Bockhaus' left. But the `keeper lunged and speared the ball with two hands, ending the shootout and the Ladyjacks' season.
Each squad created chances for itself in regulation but could not convert. For the game, Southeastern registered a 23-13 edge in shots, and the Lions posted 12 shots on goal, while SFA was credited with only two. Southeastern earned three corner kicks in each period of regulation and finished with a 7-3 advantage in that category.
SFA was whistled for 20 fouls to 11 for the Lions in what turned out to be a hotly contested, physical match-up. The Ladyjacks defeated Southeastern, 1-0, in their regular-season meeting. It marked the first home loss for the Lions in 19 games.
Bauder (9-6-2) played all 110 minutes-plus in net to finish the season with a school-record fifth consecutive shutout performance. The Ladyjacks did not allow a goal in the final 523 minutes of their 2008 campaign, and their seven shutouts this year tie for the fourth-best single-season total in program history.
This year marked the third time for the Ladyjacks to go into the SLC Tournament as the No. 4 seed. In each of SFA's previous two appearances as the fourth-ranked team - 1999 and 2001 - the Ladyjacks were also defeated in the first round.
"All the seniors played so hard, they left it all on the field," Van Linder said. "We are so proud of them, and playing without them in the future is just unimaginable at this point."
The Southland Conference Tournament continues Friday with No. 1 Texas State taking on Southeastern Louisiana at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Host team, No. 2 McNeese State, awaits the winner of Thursday's nightcap between No. 3 UTSA and No. 6 Northwestern State. That semifinal match is slated to begin at 7 p.m. on Friday.
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