LAKE CHARLES – McNeese's quest for a bid to the Southland Conference Tournament reaches its most pivotal part of the schedule this weekend, beginning Friday night when the Cowgirls host Houston Baptist at 7 at Cowgirl Field.
 
It's "Gold Out" on Friday night as the first 100 fans in attendance will receive a free gold t-shirt. Admission is free courtesy of the Lake Charles American Press.
 
The Cowgirls (7-8, 3-5 SLC) will enter Friday's match in seventh place among the 10 teams eligible to qualify for the 6-team postseason tournament.
 
Houston Baptist (5-9-1, 3-4-1) sits just a half-game ahead of the Cowgirls for that final spot along with Nicholls and Southeastern Louisiana. SLU is at first place UCA while Nicholls plays Northwestern State, who is in a tie for third place, so a win for the Cowgirls on HBU could move them up into fifth place in the standings.
 
Junior Savannah LaRicci continues to lead the team and is ranked fifth in the league in scoring with 19 points behind a team-high seven goals and five assists. She's ranked fifth in the conference with her seven goals and tied with teammate Gabi D'Alesandro with a team-high five assists, which also ranks the duo tied for sixth in the Southland.
 
D'Alesandro (2 goals, 5 assistst) and Bettina Brulhart (3 goals, 3 assists) are tied with nine points on the year.
 
As a team, the Cowgirls are third in the league with 79 points scored and tied for fourth with 26 goals on the season.
 
HBU has scored 22 goals this season and 62 points. The Huskies are led on offense by Gabby Rodriguez's six goals.
 
On Sunday, the Cowgirls will honor their four seniors prior to their game against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The Islanders are in 11^th place in the league standings with a 2-6 record and are 2-13 overall.