LAKE CHARLES – Sunday's regular season finale was nothing short of an exciting finish as the McNeese women's soccer team survived a shootout to post a 4-3 victory over Central Arkansas at Cowgirl Field and earn one of the top spots in the Southland Conference Tournament.
 
The Cowgirls (8-9-1, 6-5 SLC) will enter the SLC Tournament as the No. 4 seed and will play fifth-seeded Nicholls in the first round on Thursday, Nov. 6 at 7 p.m. at the Lady Cardinal Soccer Complex in Beaumont, Texas. The Cowgirls defeated the Colonels, 3-2, in Lake Charles on Sept. 19
 
"Today's match was a just a little crazy today but we responded the way we needed to in order to finish with a victory," said McNeese head coach Scooter Savoie. "We thought that we had the game settled a couple of times and then Central Arkansas would work their way back in but then we were able to take control and finish strong in the end."
 
The last home match turned out to be a special one for the Cowgirls who witnessed fellow teammates, senior Cheyenne Ganley and junior Sarah Bricker, score their first career goals while McNeese finished with its best conference record since the 2008 season. The Cowgirls capped off the year with an impressive 6-2-1 record on its home turf.
 
"My hats off to the whole team," said Savoie. "Today's match had a lot of implications in reference to seeding and making sure we finished with a winning record in conference play. Our seniors were able to finish the regular season with a career winning record. We had a lot at stake in this match and we needed to be sure we accomplished our regular season goals that we had set."
 
McNeese enters the postseason on a hot streak having won four of its last five matches at the end of the regular season. The Cowgirls will appear in their 12^th overall postseason tournament and will look to capture the tournament title for the second time in program history.
 
Bricker opened the scoring for the Cowgirls who took a 1-0 lead at the 7:36 mark as she attempted a direct shot off of a corner from senior Krista Steinbeiser and headed the ball into the upper right corner of the net and give McNeese an early lead. The tally was Bricker's first goal in her career.
 
Sophomore Savannah LaRicci followed up with a goal in the 39^th minute of the contest by taking a throw in from junior goalkeeper Lauren Sestak and was able to break away from the pack and score her sixth goal on the year in a one-on-one attack against the UCA goalie.
 
McNeese extended its lead to a 3-0 score mark in the 50^th minute of play after Ganley scored her first career goal on a shot from the left side of the field that wound up hitting the post and finding its way into the empty net. LaRicci was credited with the assist on the play.
 
After LaRicci pushed the lead to 3-0, midfielder Alex Wurst helped the Sugar Bears avoid the shutout by opening her account in the 55^th minute as her header off of a corner found its way past the goal and cut the lead.
 
UCA cut the lead again in the 60^th minute when Vanessa Randall lifted a shot from five yards out past the goalkeeper that gave the Sugar Bears new life as they trailed 3-2.
 
Just 30 seconds later, freshman Sierra Sisco received a pass from senior Tori Lasiter and was able to net her fourth goal on the season to give the Cowgirls a 4-2 lead. The assist was Lasiter's third this season.
 
The Sugar Bears made it interesting once again in the 61^st minute as they shrunk McNeese's lead once more as Alex Moore's shot found the back of the net to cut the lead to a 4-3 mark.
 
The Cowgirls finished the match with 12 shots, including six shots on goal, and two corner kicks, while Central Arkansas attempted 18 shots with nine shots on goal and seven corner kicks.