BEAUMONT, Texas – The final four teams of the 2018 Southland Conference Tournament are set, and the semifinal round kicks off with the #5 Wildcats and the top-seeded and regular-season champion Bears of Central Arkansas on Friday, Nov. 2 at 4 p.m. ACU (13-5-1) looks for its first-ever trip to the championship match in just its second Southland Tournament; the program was ineligible for the postseason during their four-year transitional phase to NCAA Division I. Despite not being able to play in the post-season, the team has finished among the conference's top-six teams each year as a member of the Southland, which began in 2013.
TOURNAMENT INFO… The 2018 Southland Conference Tournament takes place at the LU Soccer Complex, and is hosted by Lamar University. ACU finished as the number-five seed in the tournament, and will take on the #1 Bears, who won the league convincingly with a 10-1 league record (30 points). The winner of Friday's semifinal will take on either #3 Lamar or #7 Stephen F. Austin, who play in the second game at 7 p.m. The Championship match is slated for Sunday, Nov. 4 at 1:05 p.m., with the winner earning an automatic qualifying bid to the NCAA Championship.
TICKETS… Tickets are available for Friday's session, with adult tickets priced at $10 and children 12 and under at $8. All-tournament passes are available for the entire tournament, and are $25 for adults and $20 for children 12 and under. Sunday's championship tickets are $8 for adults and $6 for children 12 and under. Children under the age of five get in free Sunday. All Southland Conference students get free admission to the tournament, as long as he/she shows his/her ID at the gate in Beaumont.
THE SERIES… ACU and UCA will meet for the seventh time, and the first time in the postseason. The all-time series is tied through six games, 2-2-2, and no match has been decided by more than one goal. The Bears got the best of ACU earlier this season, 2-1, and bested the Wildcats last season in Abilene, 2-1. The teams tied 0-0 in 2016 in Conway, Ark. The last ACU victory came in 2015, in Abilene, by a score of 1-0.
THE ROAD TO THE SEMIS… ACU eliminated McNeese in the first round of the tournament for the second-straight season Wednesday afternoon, winning 3-1 to advance to Friday. The Wildcats trailed in the shot-total column 18-7, but made the most of every opportunity, scoring once in the first half and twice in the second. Junior
Shay Johnson recorded her second goal of the year in the 17th minute, while
Caity Acosta added her third of the year in the 58th.
Chelsea Reedy put the icing on the cake in the 63rd minute with her first of the season, and the Wildcat defense did its thing once again to preserve the win.
THE SEQUEL… Included in the all-time series is the regular-season meeting in Conway, Ark. earlier this season. The teams were scoreless in the first half, but the offenses began to find their way after halftime. UCA scored in the 56th minute, and added a goal with just five minutes left to lead 2-0. ACU put a goal on the board with just six seconds left when freshman
Laura Mauldin scored off a corner kick from
Dylan Owens. UCA trailed 12-8 in shot attempts for the match, and
Erin Smith suffered the loss in goal. The defeat, at the time, snapped a two-match winning streak, but the Wildcats would only lose once more the rest of the season.
DEFENSE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS… The Wildcat defense has made the art of scoring dark and difficult on opponents this season. The goal surrendered to McNeese was just the 10th goal allowed all season long, and the fifth against Southland teams. ACU has recorded 12 shutouts this season, leading the league, and setting a new single-season all-time program record. They lead the Southland in goals allowed (10) and goals allowed per game (0.53) as well. Goalkeepers
Rachel Johnson and
Erin Smith have combined for an .902 save percentage, which ranks seventh nationally. ACU's .632 shutout percentage ranks ninth in the country as well. Johnson leads the Southland with eight shutouts, a 0.43 goals against average and a .925 save percentage.
SCOUTING CENTRAL ARKANSAS… The Bears (16-3-1, 10-1 Southland) have not lost a game in over a month, winning 10 straight including the first-round win over #8 Northwestern State Wednesday. The regular-season champs topped the Lady Demons in a high-scoring affair, 5-2, including three goals in the first half. The teams then traded goals every six minutes in the second stanza, with UCA coming out on top to advance to its second-straight semifinal match. Five different Bears scored in the win, including Southland Player and Forward of the Year, Camille Bassett. Bassett scored her 40th career goal, breaking the school record in the process. UCA boasts the top offense in the league, scoring 55 goals this season.
