Texas State Wins Southland Conference Women?s Soccer Championship
NATCHITOCHES, La. - No. 2 Texas State relied on a goal in the 49th minute of the championship match to upset the No. 1 Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks to claim the 2011 Southland Conference Women's Soccer Tournament title at the Lady Demon Soccer Complex in Natchitoches, La. The Bobcats improves its record 14-5-1 while the Ladyjacks fall to 15-3-1.
After a scoreless first half, Texas State struck quickly into the second half on a goal by senior forward Erica Michaud. It was Michaud's second goal on the year, and it was assisted Felicia Leask, her sixth on the year. The goal by the Bobcats put Stephen F. Austin behind in a match for the first time since August and only the second goal given up against a conference opponent. It was also the first shot on goal the Ladyjacks' defense gave up during the tournament.
The Bobcats kept the Ladyjacks off the board in large part to tournament MVP Lauren Frazier, the Texas State goalkeeper. Frazier recorded eight saves in the match and she fought off 13 Ladyjacks' corner kicks. For the tournament, Frazier tallied 13 saves and gave up one goal in 200 minutes in the net.
Also earning all-tournament honors for the Bobcats were Leask, forward Serena Hines and midfielder Kelsey Bernard. The Ladyjacks placed three players on the all-tournament team with midfielder Kylie Louw, midfielder Chelsea Raymond and defender Jordan King.
Texas State earns the Southland Conference's automatic bid for the NCAA Tournament. Stephen F. Austin, which entered the match with an RPI of 45, will hope to claim an at-large bid from the selection committee. Both teams will find their fate Monday at 3:30 p.m. during the NCAA Selection Show, which will be streamed live on NCAA.com.
Postgame quotes:
Texas State Head Coach Kat Conner:
"We knew that we had to be at our best. What I like about my team is that we believe in team; it's together. We work hard to play together, and that's what happened today. SFA is a great team; Chelsea Raymond and Kylie Louw are outstanding players. SFA was a really good opponent for us. It took everything out of us to take the win today.
"When we scored that goal, we said 'Wow, we got it; let's hold on to it,' because we knew that they were going to pick up another notch. We were just trying to defend wave after wave of SFA purple, and came out with the win.
Texas State forward Erica Michaud:
"That winning goal definitely tops all of my career goals so far. SFA is a really competitive team. They really fought together throughout the game and the season. To come out together as a team and work together as a team for the goal and the win; it was great."
Texas State goalkeeper Lauren Frazier:
"This is probably one of the best moments of my life. I'm just so excited to get this win today. All of us worked together today and it's just the best feeling in the world right now."
Stephen F. Austin Head Coach Tony Amato:
"First off, fair play to Texas State. They worked very hard, they were hard to break through and they got the result today, definitely want to give [Texas State Head Coach] Kat Conner credit for that. That's the game of soccer, sometimes it all comes down to one game. They made plays and limited their mistakes. Unfortunately, we couldn't capitalize on our opportunities today.
Our girls are incredible and they deserved to keep playing, but that's the game and that's what we signed up for."
2011 Southland Conference All-Tournament Team
|
Maria Jose Rojas
|
F
|
UTSA
|
|
Maiya Cooper
|
F
|
Southeastern Louisiana
|
|
Kyle MacIntosh
|
MF/D
|
Southeastern Louisiana
|
|
Emily Edenstrom
|
MF
|
Sam Houston State
|
|
Felicia Leask
|
F
|
Texas State
|
|
Serena Hines
|
F
|
Texas State
|
|
Kelsey Bernard
|
MF
|
Texas State
|
|
Lauren Frazier
|
GK
|
Texas State
|
|
Kylie Louw
|
MF
|
Stephen F. Austin
|
|
Chelsea Raymond
|
F
|
Stephen F. Austin
|
|
Jordan King
|
D
|
Stephen F. Austin
|
Tournament MVP: Lauren Frazier, Texas State