SWOSU and Harding have reached a clash point, with the two teams set to meet Sunday for the chance to claim a GAC Championship and earn a spot in the NCAA Division II National Tournament. 

The Dawgs advanced to the championship match by defeating second-seeded Ouachita Baptist, avenging a loss to the Tigers in last year's GAC Tournament Semifinals. SWOSU came out on top 3-0, scoring less than two minutes into the match and never relinquishing control. 

SWOSU has continued to find success despite several major injuries to the team. Madelyn Kitchen went down with just three games remaining in the regular season, right as she was finding her groove. She had recorded four points over her last four games. Just one game later, Raniya Cattina went down after recording two goals and two assists on the season. Then, eight minutes into the regular-season finale, GAC Newcomer of the Year Kinsey Geasland suffered an injury and has not suited up since. Geasland had recorded nine goals, four assists and 22 points on the season. 

The Bulldogs are now 14-7-2 all-time in GAC Tournament play, holding the most tournament wins of any team in the conference. As the No. 3 seed, SWOSU also improves its record to 2-2. 

GAC Offensive Player of the Year Braelee Epp continued her stellar campaign, adding another goal and an assist to lead the Dawgs into the championship. She now has 10 goals and four assists on the season, totaling 24 points to lead the conference. 

On Thursday evening, the GAC announced its yearly soccer awards, with SWOSU taking home all four player superlatives. As mentioned, Geasland and Epp earned Newcomer and Offensive Player of the Year honors, respectively, while Saoirse Hourigan and Sarahi Delgadillo were named Midfielder and Defensive Player of the Year. 

This marks the first time since 2012 that one school has taken home all major player awards. SWOSU was also the school to accomplish the feat in 2012, making the Bulldogs the only program in GAC history to sweep all four player superlatives, and now they have done it twice. 

SWOSU has now reached the GAC Tournament Championship match 10 times, winning five titles (2012, 2013, 2017, 2019, 2022). Both marks are conference highs, and the Dawgs will look to extend their record to six championships with a win on Sunday. 

In the regular season, Harding took the series 1-0-1, earning a win in Searcy before the teams played to a tie in Weatherford. SWOSU now looks to defeat the Lady Bisons for the first time in its last three meetings. All-time, the Dawgs hold a 24-13-6 record against Harding.  

Harding claimed its third GAC Tournament title last season, defeating Ouachita Baptist 1-0 in the championship match. The Lady Bisons previously won back-to-back championships in 2015 and 2016, defeating SWOSU in both meetings. The 2016 championship went all the way to penalty kicks, where Harding came out on top 6-5. 

In the all-time postseason series, SWOSU holds a 5-1-1 advantage over Harding. However, the Dawgs have yet to defeat the Lady Bisons in a GAC Tournament Championship match. 

The GAC Championship Match will be streamed live, and for free, by the GAC Sports Network.