Great American Conference Soccer Semifinals

(4) SWOSU vs (1) Oklahoma Baptist

Nov. 9 || 3:00 p.m. || Shawnee, Okla. (OBU Soccer Complex)

Watch || Live Stats || Tournament Home Page

SHAWNEE, Okla. – With the conclusion of the regular season last week, SWOSU Soccer has turned its attention to the 2023 GAC Tournament which is set to begin Thursday, November 9 in Shawnee.

SWOSU finished with a 5-10-3 overall record and went 5-5-2 in conference play. They secured the fourth, and final, postseason seed with a win last week against Oklahoma Baptist and find themselves matched up with the top-seeded Bison again coming up in the semifinals.

It's the first time SWOSU has been a No. 4 seed since the conference began in 2011. The Bulldogs have captured five GAC Tournament titles during that span, which includes last year's championship. That's the most of any team in the league.
 
SWOSU's semifinal matchup against Oklahoma Baptist has become a familiar opposition in the postseason. The two teams have met in five of the last six postseasons, but all five of those have come in the championship match. SWOSU is 3-2 all-time in GAC Tournament play against the Bison.

This season's series between these two teams was evenly split where road teams won both contests by 1-0 margins.

Offensively this season SWOSU has been scoring by committee with six players who have scored multiple goals. Elvira Gunnarsson leads the team with five goals. Behind her is a host of players with three. Natalie Freeman, Philippine de Sancy, Hannah Guiterrez, and Ruth Vasquez all have three apiece.

Senior Micaella Swain hasn't found the net in 2023, but her five assists leads the team and ranks second in the GAC.

Should the Dawgs advance to the GAC Championship game, they will face off against the winner of No. 2-seeded Ouachita Baptist and No. 3-seeded Southern Nazarene on Sunday, November 12 at 2:00 p.m.

Both semifinal contests will be broadcast live by Oklahoma Baptist and live stats will also be available at swosuathletics.com/coverage. Sunday's championship match will be featured on the Great American Conference's YouTube page found HERE.

The winner of the GAC Tournament earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II National Tournament.

The Field

(1) Oklahoma Baptist | 8-8-2 overall | 7-3-2 GAC

• SWOSU is 11-8-4 all-time against the Bison
• The teams split the regular season series in 2023
  • 1-0 loss in Weatherford on 9/23
  • 1-0 victory in Shawnee on 11/1

​​​(2) Ouachita Baptist | 9-2-7 overall | 6-2-4 GAC

• SWOSU is 19-9-5 all-time against the Tigers
• Ouachita took the regular season series in 2023
  • 2-1 loss in Weatherford on 9/30
  • 1-0 loss in Arkadelphia on 10/21

(3) Southern Nazarene | 10-3-5 overall | 6-2-4 GAC

• SWOSU is 21-11-1 all-time against the Crimson Storm
• Southern Nazarene took the regular season series in 2023
  • 0-1 loss in Bethany on 10/14
  • 1-3 loss in Weatherford on 11/4

Tournament Schedule

Thursday, November 9
Semifinal #1: 3:00 PM - No. 1 Oklahoma Baptist vs. No. 4 Southwestern Oklahoma State
Semifinal #2: 6:00 PM - No. 2 Ouachita Baptist vs. No. 3 Southern Nazarene

Sunday, November 12
Final: 2:00 PM - Winner of Semifinal #1 vs Winner of Semifinal #2