CONWAY, Arkansas- McNeese will open up action at the 2019 Southland Conference Soccer Tournament on Wednesday afternoon at 2 when the No. 6 seeded Cowgirls face a familiar postseason foe in third-seeded Abilene Christian in first round action.
This will mark the third consecutive season the Cowgirls and Wildcats will meet in the first round. ACU defeated the Cowgirls 3-1 last season en route to the tournament title as the No. 5 seed, while in 2017, the Wildcats eliminated McNeese 5-3 in penalty kicks after the two battled to a 0-0 final.
The winner will take on the winner out of No. 2 Northwestern State and No. 7 Sam Houston State in the semifinals on Friday at 4 p.m. The championship game will be held on Sunday at 1:05.
The game will stream live and free of charge on the Southland Digital Network at www.Southland.org while a link to the stream is available on the McNeeseSports.com website.
McNeese (10-8-0, 6-5-0 SLC) will be making their fourth straight and 15th overall appearance in the postseason tournament while ACU (12-5-1, 7-3-1 SLC) is making its third all-time appearance.
"We had to laugh a bit when we saw that we drew ACU for the tournament again," said Cowgirl head coach Drew Fitzgerald who has led his team to double-digit wins in each of the last three seasons. "What are the odds of seeing them three years in a row? We know each other well and the players are looking forward to the challenge."
The Cowgirls got off to a hot start at 9-3, with two of those losses from the SEC's Arkansas and LSU. Within the strong start, the Pokes set a new school record by winning seven straight games.
Injuries late in the season have played a big factor in the Cowgirls dropping five of their last six games to end the regular season. McNeese finished the season only winning five of its last six outings. But come tournament time, everyone is 0-0. In fact, the No. 1 seed has won the tournament just four times since it began in 1997
"We figure that at some point to climb to the top you probably have to knock ACU off," said Fitzgerald. "Playing them first, when we are fresh, is potentially a blessing. Regardless, it will be a tough fight, but it's one our team is up for."
ACU will head into the tournament as one of the conference's hottest teams. The Wildcats put up an impressive 8-2-1 record in SLC play with the two losses coming at the hands of regular-season champion Lamar, and AMCC. McNeese, who dropped a 3-0 decision to the Wildcats two weeks ago, will look to end ACU's four match winning streak.
The Cowgirls won the SLC Tournament back in 2006 after they finished sixth in the regular season standings. McNeese returned to the championship match where they lost to SFA.
Since then, the Cowgirls have made the tournament eight times, losing in the first round five times (2009, 2012, 2014, 2017, 2018) and in the second round two times (2008, 2016).
Opening round and semifinal games of the tournament will be streamed live on the Southland Conference Digital Network, available at Southland.org/live and on the Southland Conference app.
2019 Southland Conference Tournament Pairings
Bill Stephen Track and Field Complex
Conway, Arkansas
Wednesday, Nov. 6
11 a.m. - No. 2 Northwestern State vs. No. 7 Sam Houston State
2 p.m - No. 3 Abilene Christian vs. No. 6 McNeese
5 p.m. - No. 1 Lamar vs. No. 8 Stephen F. Austin
8 p.m. - No. 4 Incarnate Word vs. No. 5 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Friday, Nov. 8
4 p.m. - NSU/SHSU vs. ACU/McNeese
7 p.m. - Lamar/SFA vs. UIW/AMCC
Sunday, Nov. 10
1:05 p.m. - Championship Match
Championship Live Stream: ESPN+
WatchESPN.com and ESPN apps
