Looking for a way to help prepare his young Sam Houston women's soccer team for the pressures of competition in the Southland Conference tournament, Bearkat head coach Tom Brown turned to the current master of post-season success on the campus.
Tuesday afternoon, Bearkat baseball coach Mark Johnson spoke to the team to ready them for their first round match with UTSA Thursday night in Natchitoches, La.
"Mark has won three straight Southland Conference tournaments, going 12-0 in the process. Who better to inspire our young team," Brown said.
Sam Houston State is makes its third appearance in the Southland Conference women's soccer post-season tournament in the Bearkat program's seven year history. Only five players on the current Bearkat roster were on the squad when Sam Houston made its last tournament appearance in 2007.
"The team has got to be focused," Brown said. "Also, I wanted to remind our team that, the first two times the baseball team won the Southland tournament, they were number four seeds, just like we are this year."
Sam Houston defeated UTSA 2-0 in San Antonio in the pair's earlier meeting. But the Bearkats know that regular season results get thrown out the window when tournament play begins.
"With so many freshmen on the field for us, it's important that our young players not take anything for granted," Brown said. The head coach directed his second Bearkat soccer team to the program's highest league finish, placing fourth in the 2009 Southland regular season race. The Bearkats' 5-4 Southland won-loss record is the Sam Houston's first winning conference mark. The previous high for Southland victories in a season was a 4-5 record in both 2007 and 2008.
If the Bearkats can win their first round match against UTSA, they will equal their school record for overall victories in one season. A victory Thursday would put Sam Houston in the semi-finals Friday at 7 p.m. against No. 1 seed Texas State. The tournament finals will be on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Both the first round and semifinal matches will be streamed live on www.gobearkats.com and on www.Southland.org. The finals will be televised live to a three-state regional TV audience on the Southland Television Network.
Sam Houston has qualified for the Southland post-season tournament twice before in the seven-year history of the program. Both those years the tournament was also hosted by Northwestern State.
The Kats were the No. 5 seed in 2005. Sam Houston defeated No. 4 seed Louisiana-Monroe 2-1 in the first round, then knocked off No. 1 seed Stephen F. Austin in the semi-finals 3-1. The Bearkats almost upset No. 2 seed Northwestern State in the finals, having a shot hit the post in the 88th minute. But the Demons prevailed 1-0 in overtime. The Bearkats' Raquel Bueno was named tournament MVP.
Sam Houston returned to Natchitoches in 2007 as the No. 6 seed, falling to No. 3 UTSA 1-0 in the first round.
The 2009 Bearkats have featured a young line-up with as many as eight or nine freshmen on the field at a time. Three freshmen are the team's top scorers with Kirby Zak (9 goals), Shelby Grissett (6 goals) and Leah Snelson (4 goals).
Junior goalkeeper Jenny Pence has been a true leader for the Kats. A two-time Southland Conferece "Goalkeeper of the Week" selection, Pence has six shutouts to her credit.
While soccer has completed its 2009 home schedule, Sam Houston State fans can find ticket information for all other Bearkat athletic events by going on-line at www.gobearkats.com or contacting the Sam Houston Athletic 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. Ticket office telephone is (936) 294-1729.
