BEAUMONT -- Sam Houston State held a slim 1-0 lead for most of the match but allowed a late equalizer before eventually falling 4-2 in penalties to Houston Baptist in the semifinals of the Southland Conference Tournament.

“It was a great season and I don't want our players to look at this as something that defines the season,” Bearkat head coach Tom Brown said. “I'm disappointed with the way the game went. We created some very good chances tonight and we didn't get them finished. I thought that Houston Baptist did a great job of putting us under pressure.”

The Bearkats controlled most of the possession in the first half and were rewarded with an early 1-0 lead. Ashley Alonzo got on the end of a long ball from the back by Caitlyn Schwartz and slotted it past HBU goalkeeper Patty Walrath in the 18th minute.

Moments later, Allie Johnson nearly doubled the Bearkat advantage with a shot that just sailed wide. Shelby McDaniel fired another shot on target that forced a good save by Walrath. The missed opportunities would add up for the Kats, who failed to put away the Huskies.

Houston Baptist came out firing in the second half and put all the pressure on Sam Houston. The Bearkats were able to defend everything HBU threw at them until the 86th minute.

HBU launched a free kick in the box and after a scramble in front of the net, Ellee Hall scored to tie the game 1-1.

“We kept giving them opportunities on set pieces. The ball was sent in and we failed to clear it and deal with it. It wasn't something that they built up but they were very opportunistic and got the goal,” Brown said.

The Bearkats had two great opportunities to win the match in the second overtime period. SHSU took the kickoff and went right down the field. Jordan Jarzombeck crossed into the box and Allie Johnson fired a header that rattled the crossbar. Just a few moments later Mariah Titus fired a shot that sailed just high.

With the match still level the Kats and Huskies headed to penalty kicks.

The Huskies made their first three penalties while Titus missed as the Bearkats first penalty taker. SHSU was given a lifeline when Natalie Hager missed her penalty but Madison Bible was unable to convert from the spot to tie it up. Kristi O'Brien sealed the win with her penalty.

The season ends after the Bearkats posted their best league record and highest finish in school history. After starting the season 1-7, SHSU went 8-1-1 over the final 10 regular-season games to finish second in the Southland.

Sam Houston had never finished higher than fourth in the league standings prior to this season. The Bearkats had never scored more than 18 goals in a conference season before this year when they scored 23.

“Hopefully our team will learn from this. We return many of our key players next year plus a great recruiting class. Hopefully they'll be able to take a look at this and move forward from it and if we're in this game next year we'll be able to take care of business,” said Brown.

The Kats return all seven players that were named on the All-Conference teams. Allie Johnson, Ashley Alonzo and Shelby McDaniel were named to the All-Southland first-team, while Mariah Titus earned second-team honors. The Bearkats also placed three players on the Honorable Mention list, defenders Caitlyn Schwartz and Megan Bennett and goalkeeper Kylie Hambleton.