Box Score CONWAY, Ark. – Ten years following its last, and only, appearance in the Southland Conference Tournament championship game, No. 3-seeded Sam Houston State soccer did not take long to make it known they were ready for the wait to be over.
The Bearkats' Allie Johnson, an all-conference honorable mention, accounted for two first-half goals, to ignite a 2-0 win against No. 2 seed Houston Baptist in the semifinals Friday night, vaulting Sam Houston into Sunday's championship match against No. 4 seed Southeastern Louisiana at 1:05 p.m. on ESPN3.
“She has done well throughout the season,” eighth-year head coach Tom Brown said of Johnson. “She has come through in the last several games for us. She stepped up and hit the penalty and I think she was confident from last night. She's a big part of what we do here. We're very thankful she's playing for us.”
In the 19th minute, Johnson placed a penalty-kick shot inside the right post to give the Bearkats a 1-0 lead. On the previous play, the junior was fouled in the box, as she attempted to turn with the ball and make a play in the box.
Just five minutes later, Mariah Titus lined up for the corner, placing a ball inside the box. It was redirected straight up in the air on a Shelby McDaniel header and Johnson charged the ball, heading it straight into the upper left portion of the net.
“Since I've been here, we haven't been to the finals,” Johnson said. “We lost in the first or second rounds so we haven't had the opportunity to feel what it's like to be competing for a championship. It's a really cool feeling. It hasn't all hit me right now, but I know tomorrow, it will feel great.”
The brace moved the Katy products' season total to eight goals, including four in the last five matches. The result continued positive play of recent for an offense that posted 26 shots in the tournament-opener and three first-half goals in a 3-1 season-finale win at UIW.
“I know shooting didn't go in our favor at the beginning of the season but we've worked on it over and over,” Johnson said. “To see it working at the most important time of the season is a blessing for all of us. We're happy it's starting to fall into place as each game becomes more important.”
The victory also reversed the Kats (10-6-4) fortune against the Huskies (10-6-1), a team that edged Sam Houston, 1-0 during the regular season and sent the squad packing with a 4-2 penalty-kick result in the same round at the league tournament a season ago.
The result marked the first time the Bearkats have won 10 matches in a season and moved the team to a conference-best 8-2-1 mark against league foes in matches away from Pritchett Field this season.
Meanwhile, the Sam Houston back line came up big again, logging its eighth shutout of the season including third in the last four matches. One day after deflecting a penalty-kick shot to clinch a quarterfinals victory, Bearkat keeper Kylie Hambleton made six saves.
Sam Houston's only tournament championship game appearance came in 2005 when the Bearkats fell 1-0 in overtime to host Northwestern State in Natchitoches, La. Friday night's semifinals match was the sixth, and now, most memorable, in program history.
“It lets the players know when they came in during Summer 2, doing work on their own, that the training was worth it,” Brown said. “This is ultimately where they wanted to get. We've had some challenges along the way but we were able to get through those. We'll have an opportunity Sunday afternoon to hopefully fulfill the last part of those hopes and dreams.”
