Nothing could separate Sam Houston State and Houston Baptist Friday night at Pritchett Field as the two teams played to a scoreless draw. The second seed in next week's Southland Tournament will still be up for grabs in Sunday's regular-season finale. The Bearkats have a slim advantage over the Huskies in the standings but will need to get a result at least equal to HBU's to earn the No. 2 seed.
Sam Houston will host Nicholls State for “Senior Day” Sunday at 1:00 p.m. while Houston Baptist will host Southeastern Louisiana at the same time. It will be the final home game for Bearkats Madison Bible, Ashley Fluty, Megan Manis and Jessica Toms.
“I thought we did well in the midfield today but we just struggled with that final pass and getting clean opportunities on goal,” SHSU head coach Tom Brown said. “A draw was probably a fair result for both teams. I thought (goalkeeper) Kylie Hambleton had probably her best game of the season.”
There were plenty of chances in the game as the Bearkats fired off 25 shots while the Huskies had 17 attempts. HBU goalkeeper Patty Walrath finished with a season-high 11 saves.
Junior forward Ashley Alonzo had a great chance to get a game-winner in the 76th minute. She made a great run down the right flank and fired a powerful shot that Walrath saved at the near post.
Senior midfielder Madison Bible had another great attempt with less than four minutes remaining. Bible hit a driven shot from distance that was saved onto the crossbar for a corner kick.
The Bearkats had three corner kicks in the final five minutes but weren't able to get anything out of it. SHSU finished with 11 corner kick opportunities in the match.
Junior goalkeeper Kylie Hambleton had another solid performance, making four saves and notching her fourth shutout of the season.
A bye into the semifinals of the Southland Tournament is on the line for the Bearkats as they head into the regular-season finale Sunday at 1 p.m.
“We're in a situation now where we've got to get a result. There's definitely pressure going forward and we've just got to learn to deal with that pressure and hopefully thrive on it,” said Brown.
