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Great American Conference Tournament Semifinal No. 3 SWOSU (12-5-1, 8-3-1 GAC) vs. No. 2 Ouachita (11-6-0, 10-2-0 GAC) Searcy, Ark. (Stevens Soccer Field) Thursday, Nov. 5, 3:00 p.m. Watch Live | Live Stats SWOSU Weekly Notes

Setting the Scene
- After a one-year absence, the Bulldogs return to the Great American Conference Tournament as the No. 3 seed after earning an 8-3-1 record in conference play during the regular season
- SWOSU will meet with No. 2-seeded Ouachita in the first of two GAC Semifinals on Stevens Soccer Field, home of the regular season GAC Champions, Harding, in Searcy, Arkansas

Last Time Out
- SWOSU went 1-1 at home in the final week of the season, but put to bed a three-match losing skid on Senior Day thanks to the senior connection of Eva Rule and Samantha Nunez
- The Bulldogs suffered their first loss at home on the season against Southern Nazarene 2-0, but completed the series sweep of Oklahoma Baptist 1-0
- Courtney Flores picked up her 10th clean sheet of the season with a one-save performance against the Lady Bison

The Coaches
SWOSU: Mark Persson (67-54-12; 7th season)
- This is Mark Persson's seventh season in charge of the SWOSU soccer program
- Since taking over the program in 2009, Persson has amassed a 67-54-12 record, becoming the all-time winningest coach in program history. He also led the Bulldogs to back-to-back Great American Conference Championships in 2012 and 2013
- A two time All-Conference Coach of the Year, Persson holds a 30-12-5 record against GAC opposition
- He has coached one All-American, 10 All-Region players, and numerous All-Conference players during his time in Weatherford

Ouachita Baptist: Kevin Wright (29-25-3; 4th season)
- Kevin Wright is in his fourth season in charge of the Tigers after taking over the program for the 2012
season
- He has twice led OBU to the GAC Tournament Championship, claiming the title for the first time during
the 2014 season
- Wright has developed two GAC Offensive Players of the Year, six First Team and seven Second Team
All-GAC selections
- Wright is 1-5-1 against Persson

The Opponent
(3) Ouachita Baptist (11-6-0, 10-2-0 GAC)
- The Tigers enter the GAC Tournament as the hottest team in the conference having won their last seven matches on the bounce
- Ouachita has scored 35 goals this season, and their 2.06 goals per game average ranks them in the top 50 offenses in Division II. Haley Hatcher has scored in her last seven matches, including four multi-goal games and two hat tricks in that span. She now ranks seventh nationally in goals scored
- In that same seven-game span, the Tigers have shutout five of their opponents. Goalkeeper Lauren Llanes dropped her goals-against average from 2.09 to 1.37 for the season
- Eight different OBU players have at least two assists this season, and Morgan Allen leads the way with three
- Opponents are averaging 17.6 shots per game, but have averaged just .43 goals per game in the last seven
- Hatcher was named the NSCAA National Player of the Week earlier this week after scoring five goals last week

The Series
- The Bulldogs and Tigers split the season series 1-1 with each team winning the home contest. SWOSU leads the all-time series at 8-6-2 dating back to 1999
- Payton Warren scored the only goal in a 1-0 affair in Weatherford. Miranda Hudleston and Hatcher scored in Arkadelphia, Arkansas to even the series
- The teams are also 1-1 against each other at the Great American Conference Tournament
- SWOSU won the most recent meeting at the tournament in 2012, dispatching the OBU 2-1 in the GAC Championship through goals by Kelsey Visor and Jessica Carbonara in the 84th and 87th minutes, shortly after the Tigers had taken the lead in the 79th minute.

SWOSU at the GAC Tournament
- The Bulldogs are 4-1 all-time at the GAC Tournament, with their only loss coming against the Ouachita
- SWOSU has won two of the last three GAC Tournament championships, and has only failed to reach the GAC Final once
- Twelve players have been named to the All-Tournament team, and two Bulldogs have been named the tournament MVP

Final Standings
- Harding claimed the regular season title with 31 points, narrowly edging out second-place finisher Ouachita at 30 points
- SWOSU finished with 30 points, an improvement of 22 points compared to last season. SNU claimed the final tournament berth with 15 points
- East Central placed fifth, Oklahoma Baptist sixth and Northwestern Oklahoma State seventh

Bertrand Named Defensive Player of the Week
- Following a standout performance against Okahoma Baptist, freshman defender Kylee Bertrand was named the GAC Defender of the Week. It is the second time she has won the weekly honor
- Bertrand led a defense that gave up just three shots to the Lady Bison, including a solitary shot on goal, as the Bulldogs secured their 11th shutout of the season
- She is the third Bulldog defender to earn the defensive award twice in the same season. Her sister and current SWOSU Assistant coach, Kira Bertrand, and Natalie Crosslin both accomplished the feat in 2012 and 2013
- SWOSU has now won five of the nine defensive weekly awards this year

Bulldog Offensive Notes
- Nunez scored the 25th goal of her career against Oklahoma Baptist, and is now tied with Josie Price for the career record in points at 59 (25g, 9a)
- The 298 shots taken by SWOSU this season ranks second on the seasons list, surpassing 2013's total of 288. Despite the 10 extra shots, the teams have scored the same amount of goals (32)
- Six Bulldogs have at least two assists, and SWOSU has assisted on 59.4 percent of their goals. Nunez leads the team with four assists, while Cori Kelly and Eva Rule both have three
- Nunez is one goal off the season record of 10 goals, a record she set in 2012

Bulldog Defensive Notes
- The Bulldogs have claimed 11 shutouts this season. Bertrand, Dajhane Turner, and Amaris Garcia have been present for each of the shutouts, and Erica Brunet and Charlotte Eastman have split time
- Flores is responsible for 10 clean sheets, the second-most by a SWOSU goalie in a single season
- SWOSU has given up 18 goals, currently the second-fewest goals in a single season. Ten of the goals came in two matches. Opponents have averaged 2.25 goals per game over the last four games

Looking Ahead
- A win on Thursday sets up a meeting with the winner of the the second semifinal between No. 1-seeded Harding and No. 4-seeded Southern Nazarene. The winner of the tournament will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament