#SWACWSOC Tournament Recaps: November 8
Box Score
PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas – The Howard Bison women’s soccer team advances to the 2019 Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament finals for the fourth time in sixth years, as they defeated Grambling State, 2-1 in the 109th minute of the semifinal round off the foot of All-SWAC performer Kendall Macauly from teammate Thalia Boucher.
With the victory, HU improves to 14-3 on the season, while the Lady Tigers closed out their season 10-11-1.
Miranda Urbizu recorded the first score of the match for GSU in the opening minute of the contest to take a 1-0 advantage.
The Lady Tigers controlled the clock, until Victoria Thornton found the back of the net in the 75th minute of the second half, scoring the first goal for Howard and tying the contest.
Both the Bison and Lady Tigers registered four shots on goal, but HU took the most shots (14-8) during the contest.
Rachel Pugh tallied two saves for GSU, while Alayah Hightower collected 3 saves for HU.
Box Score
PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas – The Prairie View A&M women’s soccer team defeated Jackson State, 2-0 during the semifinal round of the 2019 Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament to advance to the championship game on Friday evening at home.
Prairie View A&M scored in the first minute of the contest on an Alexis Mack goal; assisted by teammates Lesa Griffin and Gina Zaval De Rojas to claim a, 1-0 lead. PVAMU would then seal the match in the 64th minute, when Griffin collaborated with teammate Ashley Chala, putting the Lady Panthers ahead, 2-0.
The Lady Panthers controlled the pace of play, as they recorded eight shots on goal in 11 shot attempts, while Jackson State had five shots on goal in nine attempts. The Lady Tigers tallied six saves, while PVAMU recorded five.
With the victory, the #2 Lady Panthers (12-7) are set to face #1 Howard (14-3) on Sunday, November 10 at the PVAMU Soccer Complex at 11:00 a.m. For the fans who cannot attend, the match will be aired live here on the SWAC Digital Network.
DeJa’Vu, some may say! #1 Howard and #2 Prairie View A&M met in the SWAC Soccer Championship game in 2014, where the Bison prevailed over PVAMU, 2-1 to claim the Championship, but the Lady Panthers are seeking to change that narrative this time; eventhough, HU’s Head Coach Brent Leiba seeks to collect his 100th career-win.
The Bison have outscored their opponents this season, 32-11, while averaging 1.88 goals per game and holding them to only 0.65 goals per game. HU holds 0.490 shots on goal percentage and gifting only 0.479 shots on goal percentage to opponents.
Led by its four 2019 All-SWAC performers; goalie Alayah Hightower, midfielder Thalia Boucher, defender Kendall Macauly, and midfielder Victoria Thornton, the Howard is seeking their fourth title in six seasons of joining the conference.
Hightower has 66 saves and eight shutouts, while Boucher leads the team in goals (8) and second in assists with four. Macauly is fourth on the team in goals with three but first on the team in assists with (5), while teammate Thornton adds six goals on the season.
Prairie View A&M made history closing out the regular season with the program’s most conference wins in a season after going 9-1. The past record was set by the 2014 PVAMU squad with eight. This is the Lady Panthers third time making it to the championship game but still seeking their first title in program’s history.
Prairie View A&M is led by its 2019 All-SWAC performers; goalie Quinn Josiah, midfielder JoJo Bernal, Diana Neff, Ashley Chala, and Alex Fields.
Josiah enters Sunday’s championship game having logged 59 saves and six shutouts on the season, while teammate Bernal four goals and assist to her resume. Neff leads the team with eight goals and 0.514 shots on goal percentage, with fellow forward Chala sets second on the team in goals with five and an assist. Fields anchored Prairie View A&M defensively, holding its opponents to 1.06 goals per game and 9.6 shots per game.
The Panthers have outscored their opponents, 25-19 on the season; including 1.39 goals per game. PVAMU holds 0.416 shots on goal percentage; while its opponents hold 0.640 shots on goal percentage.
About the SWAC
The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) is considered one of the premier HBCU conferences in the country and currently ranks among the elite in the nation in terms of HBCU alumni playing with professional sports teams.
Current championship competition offered by the league includes competition for men in Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Football, Golf, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field and Tennis.
Women’s competition is offered in the sports of Basketball, Bowling, Cross Country, Golf, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field, Soccer, Softball, Tennis and Volleyball.
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