BEAUMONT, Texas- The McNeese Cowgirl record-breaking soccer season came to an end on Wednesday when the Cowgirls dropped a 3-1 decision to Abilene Christian in the opening round of the Southland Conference Tournament.
 

McNeese completed their season 13-7-1 overall, advancing to the SLC Tournament for the third consecutive year and 14th time in program history. The 13 wins set a new single-season record for victories. 

With the win, ACU improves to 13-5-1 and advance to the second round of the tournament to take on No. 1 seed Central Arkansas on Friday. 
 

"Congrats to Abilene, they played a very good match and are a very difficult team to play," said head coach Drew Fitzgerald. "I'm proud of what our players accomplished this season and wish it could have ended differently for our senior class. They've really raised the bar for McNeese Soccer and we will miss all of them." 
 

In the first half, the Cowgirls outshot ACU 12-3 and registered the first four shots of the game but were unsuccessful putting the shots on goal, only having four of the 12 on the net. 
 

Meanwhile, the Wildcats were able to capitalize on their first attempt after mid-fielder Shay Johnson found the back of the net in the 17th minute to give the Wildcats an early 1-0 lead. Johnson received a pass from Dylan Owens on the right side of the box and one touched it into the net. 
 

In the second half, the Wildcats took a commanding 2-0 lead in the 58th minute after mid-fielder Caity Acosta stuck the ball from outside the right side of the box and curved it past Cowgirl goalkeeper Emma Roccaforte. 
 

Three minutes later, the Cowgirls would cut the Wildcat lead in half on a goal by Keely Morrow from the middle of the box after a perfectly placed corner kick from Rachel Palet. 
 

ACU would waste no time responding to Morrow's goal, finding the back of the net in the 64th minute with a goal by Chelsea Reedy to take a 3-1 lead they would not relinquish. 
 

The Cowgirls outshot ACU in the game 18-7, but it just wasn't enough to prevent the Wildcats from eliminating the Cowgirls for the second straight year.