No. 2 Stephen F. Austin Advances to Championship with 4-2 Win
Southland Conference
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2016 Tournament Central
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - The No. 2 seed Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks punched today's first ticket to the Southland Conference soccer championship with a 4-2 win over the No. 6 McNeese Cowgirls on Friday. They advance to Sunday's championship match-up with the winner of tonight's second semifinal game between No. 1 Central Arkansas and No. 4 Houston Baptist.
The sixth-seeded Cowgirls, fresh off Wednesday night's overtime upset of No. 3 Northwestern State, showed no fear against a staunch Ladyjack defense - one that ranked second at the end of the regular season in goals allowed, goals against average and tired for first in shutouts. Pushing hard with a fast set of forwards and a high line of five midfielders, it paid off at the 34:29 mark, when a poor clearance found its way perfectly to the feet of midfielder Rachel Palet 30 yards from goal. With plenty of time to size it up, the freshman drilled her shot past goalkeeper Lillie Ehlert and into the top right corner to give the Cowgirls a 1-0 lead just over 10 minutes into the first half.
Stephen F. Austin would get their first real chance at goal with 28 minutes to go in the half, with a perfect through ball into the center of the box was just barely cut off by a charging Annie Bravenec and the rebound pushed wide to the left of her goal. At the 21:01 mark, the Ladyjacks would threaten again but Bravenec was there with another impressive low save from well inside her box against SFA sophomore Crystal Calvit.
Pressure finally paid off for the Ladyjacks, as sophomore Breanna Moore buried her ninth of the season into the bottom left corner from 25 yards out to the left of McNeese's box. The First Team All-Conference forward's goal knotted the game at 1-1 with 13:12 to go in the half.
As they found their rhythm, SFA flexed their offensive muscle, shocking the Cowgirls with a pair of goals less than a minute apart. After a sloppy clearance of a dangerous cross off the McNeese line, redshirt junior Meghan Corder floated a half-volley from 16 yards out past Bravenec and into the right side of the goal to put the Ladyjacks up 2-1 at the 42:32 mark. At 43:17, 2016 Midfielder of the Year Hanna Barker found another clumsy Cowgirl clearance at her feet and placed a left-footed shot perfectly into the top left corner. The Ladyjacks would take the momentum and a 3-1 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Stephen F. Austin held the advantage on shots (7-4) and shots on goal (6-3) in the first half. Lillie Ehlert faced four shots and made two saves while Bravenec faced seven and saved three for McNeese.
The Cowgirls had their best chance since their first goal when a header from sophomore Sarah Clayton sailed just wide left of the goal off a McNeese corner ten minutes into the second half. McNeese would continue to threaten, creating another chance off a long free kick with 20 minutes to play in regulation, but the Ladyjack back line held firm in their defensive third.
Not resting on their laurels, Stephen F. Austin tacked on another goal off a corner kick from sophomore Julianna Echavarry. The defender headed in her second goal of the season from two yards out to push the lead to 4-1 in favor of the Ladyjacks at the 71:21 mark.
The Cowgirls would throw all they could into the SFA third for the last 20 minutes, and notch one more with a header from senior Savannah LaRicci in the closing seconds, but it was Stephen F. Austin that would come away with the 4-2 victory to advance to Sunday's title game.
McNeese ended with a 13-8 advantage on shots - including four on goal from LaRicci - but could not find an offensive rhythm after the pair of late first-half goals from the Ladyjacks. Ehlert made six saves on the day for Stephen F. Austin.
They will face off against tonight's winner between No. 1 Central Arkansas and No. 4 Houston Baptist in the championship game on Sunday, Nov. 6 at 1:05 p.m. The title match-up will be an exclusive broadcast of
ESPN3, available on
WatchESPN and the WatchESPN mobile apps.
Drew Fitzgerald, McNeese head coach:
"This group is a bunch of fighters that don't quit. We felt we created chances in the second half but couldn't quite get back in the game against a very good SFA team.
It was a good season for our team and great to get a win in the conference tournament and to compete in the semifinals. We are extremely proud of our team and will work hard to be back next year."
Wally Crittenden, Stephen F. Austin head coach:
"A credit to McNeese as they were very good today. They challenged us and demanded our best for all 90 minutes. I am really proud or our kids and how they responded to giving up the early goal. This is a mature group that has proven to have high competitive character time and time again. We will address a couple of key areas for us to improve in moving forward in preparation for the championship game on Sunday. I expect our kids will be rested and ready to go for a title."