No. 2 Stephen F. Austin Handles No. 7 Sam Houston State in Opening Round
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CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – In a rematch of their regular season finale, Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston State opened the Southland Conference Soccer Tournament with a high-scoring affair. The Ladyjacks comfortably put away the Bearkats by a score of 4-1.
The first quality chance of the game came as Midfielder of the Year Hanna Barker was fed a perfect through ball into the center of the box just over five minutes in, forcing a low save from junior keeper Christina Hendershot. Barker would put another shot from long range just wide left at the 12:03 mark as the Ladyjacks aggressively hunted for the opening goal.
While SFA’s league-best defense held strong, the Bearkats continued to threaten with set pieces, racking up three corner kicks before the first 20 minutes were played.
Stephen F. Austin broke through first at the 25:17 mark with freshman Sophia Fondren feeding junior Breanna Moore straight up the middle, who slotted the opening goal past Hendershot for a 1-0 Ladyjack lead which was carried to halftime.
After 45 minutes played, Sam Houston State held the edge in shots 7-4 and corners 4-0.
It didn’t take long for SFA to strike again, with Barker finding the back of the net just over three minutes into the second half. The senior weaved her way through the center of the defense and buried a long-range shot into the top left corner from 25 yards out to give the Ladyjacks a quick 2-0 lead.
At the 38:18 mark, SFA caught another break when referee Travis Haight awarded a penalty kick after Barker was brought down in the box. Sophomore Mari Gillespie stepped up and confidently put the spot kick away to Hendershot’s left to push the lead to 3-0.
With 23:16 to play, the Bearkats would pull one back, with Carly English making her way to the top of the 18-yard box and firing a left-footed shot into the top right corner to make it a 3-1 game.
However, SFA responded in kind, almost immediately pushing the lead back to 4-1 behind a 35-yard Carli Arthurs goal with 21:12 on the clock.
The Ladyjacks held strong to their lead in the final stages, securing the 4-1 victory over their Piney Woods rivals and a spot in Friday’s semifinal. The Bearkats end the season with a 7-9-2 record.
SFA’s offense turned up in the second half, confidently marshaling the midfield and registering nine more shots than the opening period to finish with a 13-12 edge over Sam Houston. The Bearkats struggled to control the central third and failed to cut off multiple Ladyjack runs which proved to be the difference maker on most of the day’s goals.
Stephen F. Austin (12-7-0) will face the winner of No. 3 McNeese vs. No. 6 Abilene Christian in the first semifinal Friday at 4 p.m. on the
Southland Digital Network.