Kirby Zak, Sam Houston State freshman from Weatherford, has been named as Southland Conference women's soccer "Offensive Player-of-the-Week" for the final weekend of the 2009 regular season.

Zak posted her second hat trick of the season and assisted on the Kats' fourth goal in the match to lead Sam Houston to a 4-2 victory over Central Arkansas.

The victory clinched a Southland Conference tournament berth for the Bearkats, the third in the program's seven-year history.

The win also earned Sam Houston a fourth place finish in the final regular season standings, the best league standing ever for the Kats.

Zak's hat trick was the 17th in program history but only the third by a Sam Houston player against a Southland Conference opponent. Zak is the leading scorer for the Bearkats this season with nine goals. Her award marks the second time this season for Zak to win the Offensive Player of the Week honor

As the No. 4 seed, Sam Houston will take on No. 5 seed UTSA in the first round of the Southland Conference tournament Thursday at 7 p.m. in Natchitoches, LA. Should the Bearkats win, they will face No. 1 seed Texas State in the semifinals Friday night at 7 p.m.

The tournament finals will be Sunday at 1 p.m. and will be televised by the Southland Conference TV Network to a three-state regional audience. All other rounds of the tournament will be streamed live on www.gobearkats.com.

Dana Mayer of Southeastern Louisiana earned Defensive Player of the Week honors and Lacey Bockhaus of Southeastern Louisiana was the Goalkeeper of the Week honoree. 

To purchase tickets to Bearkat athletic events, go to www.gobearkats.com or contact the Sam Houston State ticket office located in the Ron Mafrige Field House at Bowers Stadium. Ticket office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The ticket office telephone number is 936 294-1729.