NATCHITOCHES, LA - The Sam Houston women's soccer team fell just short of another miracle finish as the Bearkats' season ended with a 2-1 loss to Texas State in the semi-finals of the Southland Conference Post-Season Tournament Friday night.
Southland Conference women's soccer "Player-of-the-Year" Britney Curry broke open a scoreless shutout late in the first half with a pair of goals in the space of a minute and 14 seconds to give the Bobcats a 2-0 lead at halftime.
After several near missed in the second half, Amanda Biega put the Bearkats on the board with 18:36 remaining, scoring on a header at the near post after a cross from the left side by Leah Snelson.
"Amanda's goal really gave us a lift," Sam Houston head coach Tom Brown said. "With the confidence we got after last night's come-from-behind win, we got a little extra spark and turned up the pressure."
Snelson missed a shot just over the cross bar and had a drive from 16 yards out saved in the final two minutes. But the miracle finish was not to be.
"We definitely showed improvement in this match over our 4-0 loss to Texas State in San Marcos in the regular season," Brown said. "We were very pleased with the effort tonight. It's disappointing to loss, but our performance here at the tournament is going to give this young team a lot of confidence going into next season."
The win puts the No. 1 seeded Bobcats, the league's regular season champions, in the finals of the post-season tournament Sunday afternoon against No. 2 seed Southeastern Louisiana. The Lions defeated No. 3 seed 1-0 in a scoreless duel decided by penalty kicks after 20 minutes of overtime in the other semi-final.
Sam Houston goalkeeper Jenny Pence withstood a strong Bobcat attack in the first period as Texas State fired 10 shots at her. One hit the post and Pence saved two others. Curry scored from 16 yards out on a pass from Kendell Webber at 38:23. Moments later, at the 39:39 mark, Curry headed in a ball from four yards out on a cross by Jaime Leake. The Bearkats had three shots in the first half. All were saved by Bobcat goalkeeper Mandi Mawyer.
Sam Houston turned up the heat in the second 45 minutes. The Bearkats took five shots, three resulting in saves and one with a goal. Texas State out-shot Sam Houston 15-8 for the match.
The loss ended the 2009 season for the Sam Houston State women's soccer team. The Kats finish the year with a 9-10-2 record. The nine victories tied the school record for wins in one season and Sam Houston's 5-4 conference record and fourth place league finish were the best in the program's seven year history.
