HOUSTON – Friday evening marks the regular season finale for HCU women's soccer with a chance at qualifying for the Southland Conference Championship tournament still on the line as the Huskies face Texas A&M-Commerce at Sorrels Field at 7:00 p.m.
The Huskies (5-8-5, 3-3-3 SLC) have won their last two matches and own a 2-1-2 record over the last five. This has put HCU in a tie for eighth place with the top eight teams in the conference standings earning a bid to the SLC Tournament. Depending on the results of the regular season's final day, the Huskies can qualify as either the No. 7 or No. 8 seed.
Last Sunday, HCU fell behind, 1-0, in the 39
th minute on the road at McNeese but answered less than a minute later when
Alexa Huerta converted a penalty kick to even things up. Huerta then netted the game-winner on another PK in the 81
st minute to send the Huskies home winners.
Huerta and
Olivia Rossman are tied for the team-lead with 13 points on the season. Huerta has five goals and three assists while Rossman has found the net six times with one assist. In goal, freshman
Emmy McKeon has totaled 73 saves to move into ninth in single-season saves in HCU history and her 4.87 saves per game ranks second in the conference.
Texas A&M-Commerce (6-9-3, 5-3-1 SLC) owns wins over the top two teams in the conference standings but also has just a 2-5-2 record on the road for the season. Last weekend, the Lions dropped a 3-0 decision at UIW.
The Lions have a pair of primary scoring threats with sophomore Kaydence Ramirez leading the way with eight goals in just 12 matches while fellow sophomore Hannah Bell has six. Junior keeper Gillian McKenzie has played the majority of minutes in goal with a 1.93 goals against average and a save percentage of .632.
The Huskies and Lions met twice last season, first with TAMUC earning a 4-3 win in a shootout in Commerce, Texas with all seven goals scored in the first 49 minutes of play. HCU then earned a 2-1 upset win in the conference tournament as the No. 7 seed to advance to the semifinals.
The 2024 SLC Tournament begins on Tuesday, Nov. 5 with four games on the schedule in Corpus Christi, Texas at the Dr. Jack Dugan Soccer and Track & Field Stadium.
