Box Score (xml)
SEARCY, Ark. – SWOSU fell 5-3 to No. 1-seeded Harding in the Great American Conference Tournament final, the highest scoring match in the history of the tournament. The Bulldogs rallied late before succumbing to three straight goals by the Lady Bisons, falling in the GAC Final for the first time in program history.
The match started out slowly for the Bulldogs, who were outshot 17-3 in the first frame. Harding got on the board in the 11th minute after
Courtney Flores gave up a rebound before
Samantha Nunez levelled the game at one goal apiece off the assist from
Cori Kelly in the 18th minute. The tie was short-lived however, as Flores permitted another rebound to find the back a minute later.
SWOSU worked their way back into the match in the second half, as the Bulldogs scored two goals in three minutes.
Olivia Butler threaded the ball to a wide open Nunez from the left wing in the 61st minute. The First Team All-GAC selection fell backwards on the shot, but put just enough power on it to beat Harding keeper Kaitlyn Miller. Butler followed that up with a looping cross in the 64th minute, again from the left flank, that fell to Kelly on the right side of the box. SWOSU's other first-team selection lofted her shot over Miller to give the Bulldogs a 3-2 lead, the first of the day for SWOSU.
Unfortunately, it was a brief lead as Harding scored three unanswered goals to end the match. The Lady Bisons scored the first in the 73rd minute from a failed clearance on a corner kick off a curling shot that just beat Flores, before a speculative effort in the 74th minute of play just inched over Flores' head to put Harding back on top. An own goal by SWOSU off a corner in the final 10 minutes of play provided the final score line.
Nunez set the single season goals record in the loss, bagging a brace to finish with 12 goals on the year. With three goals in the GAC Tournament, she became just the second player in the tournament's history to score three goals in a single tournament.
Nunez, Kelly and
Kylee Bertrand were also honored with All-GAC Tournament honors. It is the first time any of SWOSU's three First Team All-GAC selections have been picked for the all-tournament team.
The Bulldogs end the season at 13-6-1, improving their win total by 11 games from last season. SWOSU will return six of the starters from this year's GAC Final match.
