Ladyjacks Ready for SLC Tournament in Conway
11/5/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
2015 Southland Conference Tournament
Thursday, Nov. 5 -- Sunday, Nov. 8
Bill Stephens Soccer Complex • Conway, Ark.
Tournament Central • 2015 SLC Tournament Bracket 
Semifinal Match
No. 1 SFA (9-7-2, 8-1-2 SLC) vs. No. 4 SLU or No. 5 AMCC
Friday, Nov. 6 • 4:30 p.m.
Watch: SLC Digital Network
Championship Match
Teams: TBA
Sunday, Nov. 8 • 1:05 p.m.
Watch: ESPN3
NACOGDOCHES, Texas -- The Stephen F. Austin women's soccer team did all it could to put itself in a good position for the upcoming Southland Conference Tournament, held this year at the Bill Stephens Soccer Complex in Conway, Arkansas. The Ladyjacks won their fifth consecutive league title in 2015 to grab the number one seed and a first round bye into the semifinals this weekend.
SFA will play the winner of Thursday afternoon's quarterfinal match between No. 4 Southeastern Louisiana (11-4-3, 6-3-2 SLC) and No. 5 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (5-10-2, 5-5-1 SLC) on Friday at 4:30 p.m. The Ladyjacks beat the Lady Lions 2-0 and the Islanders 3-0 during the regular season. Both matches were played in Nacogdoches.
SFA is the only Division I soccer program in the nation to win a regular season championship outright in each of the last five seasons, but will need two more wins this weekend in order to punch its ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2012. The Ladyjacks have lost in the tournament final in each of the last two years and will look to climb that last hump this weekend.
"You get into the conference tournament because you've prepared, performed and gotten results," said head coach Wally Crittenden. "It was a tight league from top to bottom this year. There were some very good teams that didn't make the tournament and some teams that were playing really well at the end of the season. We are excited about the chance to play another game, regardless of the opponent, and we want to make sure that when we enter this part of the season our focus is strictly on the game in front of us. We want to extend our season but have to focus on one game at a time."
All bets are off in a `win or go home' format like the top six teams in the SLC will face this weekend, but Crittenden feels as though the 2015 season has prepared his team for the trials and tribulations that will be awaiting them in Conway.
"When you consider the challenges this group has faced over the past two months, it is remarkable to see the amount of maturity and growth from a leadership standpoint and a competitive character standpoint," said Crittenden. "We've been through a lot and have had to be creative in how we solve problems. It has definitely been something that I've really enjoyed being apart of. The best is yet to come for this group and I think they'll recognize that."
With the regular season championship securely in hand heading into the final game of the year at Sam Houston State last Friday night, the Ladyjacks dropped a tight 1-0 result to their Piney Woods rival. The defeat snapped an impressive 32-match conference unbeaten streak, which was the longest active streak in the nation. The goal conceded in the match was the only one allowed by the Ladyjacks in their final five games of the regular season as the squad started playing some of its best soccer down the stretch.
"I'll tell you what, we've dropped points on three occasions in league play this year and we've turned around, responded, refocused and risen to the occasion for weeks following each of those games (draws against NSU and UCA)," Crittenden said. "I expect nothing different and quite frankly, if we were going to have a lapse in our focus and execution, I'd rather it happen before the conference tournament. In those regards we're only human and we're going to address it, move on and get ready to play this weekend. We can't wait to get back after it."
GAME NOTES
SFA in the SLC Tournament: The Ladyjacks will seek their fourth SLC Tournament Championship and first since 2012 this weekend in their 17th appearance overall. SFA enters with an 11-9-4 record in the league postseason. The Ladyjacks have advanced to the championship match in each of the last four seasons, winning it all in 2012 and finishing as the runner-up in the other three years. SFA has finished second four times at the event overall. Last year the ‘Jacks lost to No. 3 Houston Baptist 2-0 in the final to end the season.
SFA vs. SLC Tournament Field: The Ladyjacks are 3-1-1 against the SLC Tournament field, with wins against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Southeastern Louisiana and Houston Baptist. SFA dropped the season finale with Sam Houston State 1-0 last Friday and tied Central Arkansas 1-1 in Conway on Oct. 9. The Ladyjacks outscored the five opponents 8-3, shutting out the Islanders and the Lady Lions. The ‘Jacks went 5-0-1 against non-tournament teams this year.
SFA’s 2015 Matches vs. Tournament Field:
Sept. 25: vs. AMCC – W, 3-0
Sept. 27: vs. HBU – W, 2-1
Oct. 9: at UCA – T, 1-1
Oct. 18: vs. SLU – W, 2-0
Oct. 30: at SHSU – L, 1-0
Drive To Five: The Ladyjacks clinched the 2015 Southland Conference Championship last Wednesday night for the program’s unprecedented fifth straight league crown. It is the 10th regular season title for SFA, which doubles the next closest member institution (Southeastern Louisiana – 5). No other current SLC school has more than one. The Ladyjacks’ streak of five straight titles is the longest in the country only behind Florida Gulf Coast University’s six straight out of the Atlantic Sun Conference. SFA is the only school with five consecutive outright championships though as FGCU shared the A-Sun crown in 2011.
Southland Dominance: SFA has dominated the Southland soccer scene over the last five seasons. The Ladyjacks have a 46-2-3 league record during the span with five consecutive SLC championships to show for it. SFA, who went 11-0-0 last year, has only lost to a conference opponent twice since 2011. Before last Friday’s loss to Sam Houston, the Ladyjacks’ last setback came over two years ago on Sept. 21, 2013 when Oral Roberts won in overtime, 2-1. The Ladyjacks owned a 32-match unbeaten conference streak before dropping the decision to the Bearkats – it was the longest active streak in the nation at the time.
Doyle Named SLC Player of the Year: Junior midfielder Amanda Doyle became the fifth player in the last six years from SFA to be named SLC Player of the Year on Tuesday. The honor comes on the heels of a breakout year for the Carrollton native, who ended the year ranked third in the SLC in goals (7), fourth in points (17) and game-winning goals (2), and fifth in assists (3) during league play.
Crittenden Tabbed SLC Coach of the Year: For the third consecutive season in just his third year as SFA head coach, Wally Crittenden was once again voted as the top coach in the conference. With the Coach of the Year honor, he becomes the first soccer coach in SLC history to win the award in three straight seasons. Crittenden guided his team to an 8-1-2 conference record in 2015 en route to an unprecedented fifth straight SLC crown. In his three years at the helm in Nacogdoches, he has compiled an impressive 29-2-3 mark in league play.
SFA Places Six on All-SLC Teams: The Ladyjacks earned the most selections (6) in the SLC between the first and second all-conference teams on Tuesday morning, placing two on the first and four on the second team. Two more players were recognized as honorable mention picks for a total of eight Ladyjacks honored.
First Team
Amanda Doyle – MF
Brooke Dunnigan – D
Second Team
Hanna Barker – F
Rachel Owens – MF
Chantal Curry – D
Lillie Ehlert – GK
Honorable Mention
Madison Hall – MF
Kelly Ann Craig – D
Stingy D: The SFA defense has been superb over the last five games, rattling off four straight shutouts of Nicholls, Southeastern Louisiana, Incarnate Word and Abilene Christian before surrendering just one goal in a loss at SHSU. The Ladyjacks have more shutouts (6) than goals allowed (5) this season and leads the league in both categories.
Top Drawer of the Southland: Four Ladyjacks were recently represented in Top Drawer Soccer’s Conference Top 20 rankings, released last week. Junior defender Brooke Dunnigan was rated as the second best player in the SLC, followed by junior midfielder Amanda Doyle (10th), sophomore forward Hanna Barker (16th) and senior defender Chantal Curry (19th). SFA’s four selections on the list were the most in the conference.
Capital One Academic All-District: Redshirt sophomore forward Carolina Orsi was selected to the 2015 Capital One Academic All-District Seven Women’s Soccer First Team, as announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Orsi boasts an impressive 4.0 GPA as a kinesiology major. She has appeared in 12 games for the ‘Jacks this season.
Among the League’s Best: The Ladyjacks ended the year ranked among the best in the SLC in several statistical categories. Here’s a breakdown of some notable rankings:
Goals Allowed – 1st (5)
Goals Against Average – 1st (0.43)
Shutouts – 1st (6)
Shots – 2nd (181)
Goals – 2nd (20)
Assists – 3rd (16)
Points – 2nd (56)
Defensive Anchor: Junior defender Brooke Dunnigan is the only Ladyjack to have played every minute of the 2015 season so far, staying on the pitch for a total of 1,665 minutes over 18 games. Dunnigan led the team in minutes played in 2014 with 1,781. She was the only Ladyjack to start all 20 games.
Tickets Available for Southland Soccer Tournament
Tickets are available through the Central Arkansas ticket office.
Two-Day Session Pass: $15.00
Single-Day Pass: $10.00
Championship Pass: $8.00
Southland Student (with ID): Free
Children 5 and Under: Free
Looking Ahead: Following Friday’s semifinal match, the winner will advance to the SLC Tournament Championship, which will be held on Sunday afternoon at 1:05 p.m. and streamed live on ESPN3. The tournament champ will earn the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
-SFA-
