Second Seeded Ladyjacks Open Southland Conference Tournament With Rematch Against Bearkats

Wednesday, November 1

Corpus Christi, Texas

11:00 a.m.

Stephen F. Austin

#7 Sam Houston State University

Second Seeded Ladyjacks Open Southland Conference Tournament With Rematch Against Bearkats

10/31/2017 4:10:00 PM | Women's Soccer

SFA makes ninth straight Southland Conference Tournament appearance on Wednesday

By: Kevin Meyer | Assistant Director of Athletic Media Relations

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas—Leaving the piney woods of East Texas for the sandy beaches and warm waters of Corpus Christi, the Stephen F. Austin women's soccer team looks to begin their journey to a conference title when they face the Sam Houston State Bearkats on Wednesday. The Ladyjacks earned the second seed in the tournament with a thrilling 2-1 double overtime victory over their rival on Friday, and by virtue of seeding will face the Bearkats just six days later in Wednesday's opening round.

"I don't think either team is going to make any major adjustments for the game, as I think we were both pretty dangerous and effective on Friday", said SFA head coach Wally Crittenden. "I'm expecting really high energy from both teams, and I know they have really good players and are going to be well organized as well. I think it's going to come down to who settles into the game first, who makes better use of in-game learning. Ultimately, the team that can weather the storm of the other team is going to have the best chance to win."

Both the Southland Quarterfinals and Semifinals will be streamed live on the Southland Digital Network, with the final being streamed live on ESPN3. Live stats will be available for each match on the tournament homepage at Southland.org, with video and live stats links for each SFA match also available on the SFA Soccer schedule page.

Appearances in the conference tournament are nothing new for the 'Jacks, as they added to a streak of nine straight tournament appearances by clinching their spot in the 2017 tournament weeks ago. Recent history has also seen the Ladyjacks amass five straight conference regular season titles as well, although it was Lamar that took the title this season. Ultimately, the Ladyjacks are looking to reach—and win—a conference tournament title, with their most recent title coming during the 2012 season.

After coming through the non-conference slate with a mixed bag of results and a 3-4 record, the Ladyjacks hit a new gear in conference play, dropping just three conference matches compared to eight wins, claiming second place in the league table with the final match of the season. Along the way, the 'Jacks tightened up on the defensive end, finishing as the top defense in the Southland, and finished in the top five in the major offensive categories as well.

If Friday's match in Huntsville was any indicator, the 'Jacks are in for a dogfight in the opening round matchup, as the two teams were very well matched through the duration of the game. With neither team able to gain the advantage on the other for the opening 80 minutes of the contest, it was a series of late scores that provided the result in overtime. After drastically improving their record from last season, the Bearkats (7-8-2, 4-5-2 SLC) are a dangerous team on both sides of the ball, and their placement as the seventh seed is nothing if not indicative of the level of competition in the Southland this season.

Adding another storyline to this week's tournament was the reveal of the 2017 Southland All-Conference Teams on Monday. Regular season champion Lamar and third place McNeese were both heavily recognized both on the All-Conference Teams as well as the positional superlatives. Despite owning the conference's stingiest defense and a high scoring offense, the Ladyjacks placed just one athlete (Midfielder of the Year Hanna Barker) on the All-Conference Teams, while seventh seeded Sam Houston State placed two. The 'Jacks instead received five Honorable Mentions in the release, which was determined by votes from conference head coaches and sports information directors.

A more in-depth look at the tournament field reveals an impressive history of Ladyjack dominance in the all-time series of each of the seven other opponents. Counting results from the current season, SFA leads the combined series with the other tournament teams by a whopping 77-16-5 margin. SFA's 15 wins against Sam Houston State are the second most of against any other tournament team, trailing only the program's 27 wins against McNeese. The matches will be played at Jack Dugan Stadium, the home turf of the eighth-seeded A & M-Corpus Christi Islanders, a familiar turf to teams who were present at the same location for last season's tournament.

"We like it here, we've played well here and are familiar with the playing surface here in Corpus", said Crittenden. "At the end of the day, we've competed against five of the seven conference teams on the road, so we're comfortable playing that high level competition on the road, and will be like what we're accustomed to. At the end of the day, we are who we're going to be, and with it being a short week, it's mostly on us and our preparation and how we can be prepare ourselves for this game."

Elsewhere in the tournament field, No. 3 McNeese will play No. 6 Abilene Christian at 2:00 p.m following the 'Jacks match, followed by No. 4 Central Arkansas and No. 5 Houston Baptist. The final match of Wednesday's slate will be top-seeded Lamar and No. 8 Texas A & M-Corpus Christi. If SFA advances past Sam Houston State on Wednesday, they will play the winner of McNeese/Abilene Christian on Friday at 4 p.m.

-SFA-