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SWOSU at Dallas Baptist (4-4-1) Friday, Oct. 11, 4 pm Dallas, Texas Live Stats | Live Video

SWOSU at NWOSU (1-11, 0-4 GAC) Sunday, Oct. 13, 3 pm Alva, Okla.

Weekly Notes (pdf)

Setting the Scene
      A tie with Ouachita Baptist on Sunday left the SWOSU soccer team deadlocked atop the conference standings with the Tigers. The Lady Bulldogs get one chance to improve the conference record this week while also stepping out of conference action for a Friday trip to Texas.
      SWOSU will visit Dallas Baptist on Friday in a crucial regional match for both teams. DBU is currently ranked 10th in the South Central region while the Bulldogs are sitting in the No. 4 spot in the Central region standings. At the end of the regular season and conference tournaments, the top eight teams from each region advance to the NCAA Division II tournament.
      On Sunday, the Bulldogs head to Alva for conference action against Northwestern Oklahoma State. The Rangers are in their second year of the transition to Division II and the Great American Conference.

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The Coaches
      Mark Persson is in his fifth season at SWOSU in 2013. He has orchestrated an amazing turnaround and he holds a 45-34-8 record leading the Lady Bulldogs, becoming the program's all-time winningest coach during the 2012 season. Persson has twice been recognized as a conference coach of the year, most recently claiming the GAC's honor in 2012.
      Michelle Lenard is in her sixth year as the Head Coach of the Women's Soccer Team at DBU. In 2012, Lenard led the team in their second consecutive Heartland Conference Championship as well as their first Heartland Conference Tournament Championship and a berth in the NCAA Division II tournament.
      Kasey Mahaffey is in her second year as head women's soccer coach at Northwestern Oklahoma State after three years as an assistant at East Central University. She has a record of 1-27-2 as the head coach of the Rangers.
 
About the Opponents
      Dallas Baptist is the defending Heartland Conference Champions and they were the No. 1 seed and host of the South Central Regional in 2012. This year, the Patriots are 4-4-1 overall with a 2-1 record in Heartland Conference matches. DBU has defeated Central Oklahoma, West Texas A&M, Texas Woman's and McMurry while falling against Colorado Mines, Texas A&M-Commerce, and St. Edward's twice. The Patriots also tied Metro State earlier this season.
      Northwestern Oklahoma State is now in the second year of their transition from NAIA to NCAA Division II this season. The Rangers are 1-11 on the year and 0-4 in Great American Conference matches and they have been shutout in three of four conference contests. The lone win for NWOSU came against Newman earlier this season.
 
Last Time Out
      Great American Conference co-leaders Ouachita Baptist and Southwestern Oklahoma State University hooked up for the first time since the GAC Tournament championship match on Sunday. Each team attempted 15 shots and score one goal and the match ended as a 1-1 tie.
      OBU's Haley Hatcher scored late in the first half, giving the Tigers a 1-0 lead in the 40th minute on their lone shot attempt of the half. OBU was the aggressor for much of the second half, playing with the wind, but SWOSU's Alexis Russell found the back of the net in the 76th minute to knot it up at 1-1.
      Natalie Crosslin and Cori Kelly each had three shot attempts in the match while Russell, Jessica Carbonara and Samantha Nunez also had multiple shots. Courtney Flores made six saves and moves to 4-1-2 on the year.
 
 
Make it Five Straight
      Senior defender Natalie Crosslin was named the Great American Conference Defensive Player of the Week on Tuesday, giving a SWOSU player the honor for the second consecutive week.
      Crosslin helped SWOSU limit Ouachita Baptist's potent attack to one goal during Sunday's 1-1 deadlock between the top two teams in the Great American Conference standings. The native of Bixby, Okla., was also key in Friday's victory against Harding in which SWOSU held the Lady Bisons to only four shots on goal.
      This is Crosslin's first weekly honor of her senior season and she joins Kira Bertrand as Bulldogs to earn the defensive honor. Samantha Nunez (offensive) and Courtney Flores (goalkeeper) have also earned the GAC's weekly awards, giving SWOSU an honoree in each week of the season.
 
Looking Ahead
      The second time through the conference schedule begins next week. SWOSU will host Southern Nazarene next Friday and East Central on Sunday.