Kats, Lions square off in championship Sunday
11/7/2015 7:00:00 PM | Soccer
CONWAY, Ark. – When eighth-year head coach Tom Brown gathered his team around Saturday for their final practice before the Southland Conference Tournament Championship, it was clear the opportunity in front of the group was both a unique and exciting one.
“They've invested so much that at this point, they just need to go out and give everything they have, enjoy the moment and embrace it,” Brown said. “You can't say, 'we'll do it next time.' This may be this last opportunity some of those players have and it's certainly the last opportunity for the seniors.”
No. 3 seed Sam Houston State (10-6-4) will take on No. 4 Southeastern Louisiana (13-4-3) on Sunday at 1:05 p.m. in the tournament championship, with the winner receiving the league's automatic berth to the Women's College Cup held Nov. 15-17.
The championship match will be carried exclusively on ESPN3 with Dave Saltzman on play-by-play and two-time first-team all-Southland selection Laura Sadler on color. ESPN3 is available via WatchESPN.com and the WatchESPN app.
The Bearkats, who have never won a conference title or advanced further in postseason play, last appeared in the tournament championship 10 years ago, dropping a 1-0 overtime match to Northwestern State in Natchitoches, La.
“We're hoping the team gets out and competes hard,” Brown said. “We think the last two or three weeks has been really good for the team. We've had some challenges but I think the team is confident and they should be. We're looking forward to getting out and hopefully making our best showing of the year.”
On Thursday, after a scoreless regulation and pair of overtimes, Sam Houston was pushed to the brink, trailing 1-0 in penalty kicks before scoring four straight to edge No. 6 seed and host Central Arkansas, 4-3. The Kats followed up the late heroics with goals in the 19th and 24th minutes from junior Allie Johnson to defeat Houston Baptist, 2-0, in the semifinals.
“The two early goals for us made a big difference,” Brown said. “We were getting tired and I think they were able to put us under pressure (in the second half). I thought Allie Johnson put herself in some dangerous positions and was able to earn the penalty kick off the corner kick.”
While the offense has exploded recently – including 26 shots, its second highest total of the season against UCA on Thursday and third multi-goal match in the last five matches against HBU on Friday – defense could be the story on Sunday.
The Lady Lions and Bearkats rank first and second in the league in goals allowed per game with 0.87 and 0.88 respectively. Southeastern Louisiana owns nine shutouts to the Bearkats eight, including a 1-0 semifinals victory against Stephen F. Austin to vault the team to the title match.
Appropriately so, the squads battled 110 minutes to a scoreless tie in the lone meeting during the regular season, taking place Oct. 16 at Sam Houston's Pritchett Field. Lady Lions' goalkeeper Hope Sabadash logged five saves while the Kats' Kylie Hambleton grabbed eight.
With its victory on Friday, Sam Houston eclipsed 10 wins for the first time in program history. The win was the 35th for a Bearkat senior class who hopes they can etch their name into program lore with one more.
“It's been a long journey for this team,” Brown said. “They came in during Summer II and worked hard as a group. We continued that through our preseason and conference. The seniors came in and have meant so much to this program that it would really be fantastic for them to finish with a tournament championship.”
