The Lady Buffs Soccer team took care of business when it came to hosting the LSC Tournament this past weekend at The Pitch. After handling Midwestern State in a 3-1 decision on Nov. 2, the Lady Buffs won an epic double overtime victory against Incarnate Word 3-2 on Nov. 4.
“We had a fantastic effort and performance on Friday with the 3-1 win against Midwestern,” Coach Chad Webb said. “Everyone played well, and we had great senior leadership with Leslie scoring two goals and assisted one with Lindsay, another senior, scoring a goal – that’s what you need out of those older players. In the second half, the freshmen came in to center midfield, worked really hard, and helped us hold onto that win. [Sunday] we started a little slow and I was a little afraid of that, because of all of the hype we put up Friday night. It’s so hard for the girls to get back up to that level – it’s human nature. They were on top of us everywhere, and at halftime what were we going to do? We could be done with our season and lock up our locker room or we could give this a fight. I give a lot of credit to [sophomore striker] Jasmine Schultz and her efforts. And the fans, I loved the chant the guys did. And the irony is, they’re all friends with [Jasmine] and she’s the part of the reason why they come out here.”
On Friday, WT powered ahead of the Mustangs behind a pair of two scores by senior striker Leslie Briggs in the first half, with junior midfielder Berklee Watson and freshman midfielder Emily Krenek providing assists to the first goal and senior midfielder Kelsey Wright giving the assist for the second score. The Mustangs would come close with a 25-yard shot by Berklee Dressler with twenty remaining in the first half, but senior midfielder Lindsay McHorse would finish off Midwestern State with the game-winning goal.
“The team showed a lot of heart, strength, and desire this weekend as we avenged a 4-1 loss earlier in the season to Midwestern State,” Leslie Briggs said. “Then, on Sunday, finally beating everyone in the conference as Incarnate Word was the only team we did not beat. We showed a lot of fire as we lead at the only time, which seemed to be the most important time – the end of the game. Couldn’t have asked anything more from my teammates.”
Sunday would mark the rubber match between the Lady Buffs and archrival Incarnate Word for the LSC Championship. Despite falling behind early to an Amber Guenther goal and Sydney Solomon assist with a little under 33 minutes left in the first half, Lindsay McHorse struck back with an equalizer off of a Lady Buff corner kick shortly into the second half. However, the Cardinals would strike back with a breakaway score by Sarah Johnson until Schultz knocked in a put-back goal shortly after to push the game into extra time.
The first overtime was a stalemate by both sides. In the second overtime, LSC Tournament MVP Briggs knocked in the game winner to help the Lady Buffs clinch the Lone Star tournament title and give the white-clad side an automatic berth in the NCAA Division II Tournament. This championship marks the sixth Lone Star Conference Championship. Along with Briggs earning the Tournament MVP award, the LSC All-Tournament team includes Jasmine Schultz, senior defender Becky Peth, Lindsay McHorse, and junior goalkeeper Yvette Bedoy.
While the Lady Buffs continue their 2012 campaign with a 13-6-1 record, Midwestern State concludes their season with a 7-10-3 overall record while Incarnate Word falls to 9-8-1 to end its season. As of print time, WT will wait and see where they will go for the South Central Region Tournament when the NCAA announces its Division II Women’s Soccer Selection Show.
