Belton, TX – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor women's soccer team is gearing up for a postseason appearance in the American Southwest Conference Championship Tournament. The Cru advanced to the tournament for the fifth time in school history and first time since 2009. The 2013 ASC Championship Tournament will run Thursday, Nov. 7
th – Sunday, Nov. 10
th on the campus of the University of Texas at Dallas. UMHB earned the No. 3 seed and will enter the tournament at 13-3 on the season and 7-3 in ASC action.
The Cru will open the tournament with a first-round match against No. 6 Concordia at 2 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 7
th. The winner of that match will advance to face No. 2 Texas-Dallas on Friday, Nov. 8
th at 2 p.m. The other first-round match will pit No. 4 Texas-Tyler against No. 5 East Texas Baptist Thursday, Nov. 7
th at 11 a.m. The winner of that match will face No. 1 Hardin-Simmons Friday, Nov. 8
th at 11 a.m. The championship match will be played on Sunday, Nov. 10 at 1 p.m. with the winner of that match receiving the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III National Championships. UMHB posted a 2-3 regular season record against other teams in the field, earning wins over Concordia and Texas-Dallas. UMHB is 1-4 all-time in the ASC tournament.
"We are excited about the opportunity to play in the conference tournament this year," Cru head coach
Barry Elkins said. "We have a young group of girls but they have grown a lot during the season and are excited about the opportunity to play in the postseason."
Elkins took over the program last season and led the Cru to a school-record 13 wins this season. UMHB also broke a school record for shutouts in a season, posting nine in 2013. Elkins returned 13 letter winners from last year's squad and welcomed 15 freshman this season.
Kathryn Parker leads the Cru offensively this season with 12 goals, six game-winning goals and five assists.
Ashley Teague and
Allison Porter also provide a scoring threat, with 10 and seven goals respectively.
Kristen Hoelscher and
Maizey Cardy have both recorded four assists this season.
Courtney Craig and
Abbigail Minnix split time in the goal for the Cru, allowing a combined 17 goals and holding opponents to just 1.06 goals per game. The duo has recorded nine shutouts and recorded 49 saves.
You can follow the ASC Women's Soccer Tournament through live video and live statistics at the following link:
http://cometsports.utdallas.edu/sports/2013/11/5/WSOC_1105135801.aspx. Tickets for the tournament are $7 for adults,$5 for college students and $3 for students ages 6-18. Official tournament t-shirts are $15.
