HOUSTON, Texas – The Southeastern Louisiana women's soccer team closed out the regular season with a 2-1 loss to Houston Baptist in the regular season finale for both teams Sunday afternoon at Sorrels Field.
 
Despite the loss, Southeastern (12-7, 5-6 Southland) will make its ninth consecutive trip to the Southland Conference Tournament, scheduled for Thursday through Sunday in Beaumont, Texas. HBU improved to 8-6-4 overall and 7-1-3 in league action.
 
SLU will be the No. 6 seed in the Southland Conference Tournament and will face No. 3 HBU on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. Live video, provided by the Southland Conference, and live stats, provided by host Lamar, will be accessible at LionSports.net.
 
In the loss, junior Cheyenne Maxwell scored her fifth goal of the season, scoring off a feed from junior Erin Christ. Sophomore Hope Sabadash made her return to the net for the first time since suffering an injury on Sept. 21, finishing with six saves.
 
"We're happy to be able to compete for a Southland Conference Tournament championship," Southeastern head coach Blake Hornbuckle said. "We were very pleased with Hope's efforts in her return to goal and the play of Gisenia Utreras today."
 
Southeastern jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the 30^th minute. After HBU goalkeeper Patty Walrath failed to clear a corner kick by senior Chelsea Villaescusa, Christ played a ball to Maxwell. The Sacramento, California native's fifth goal of the season resulted and gave the Lady Lions a halftime advantage.
 
In the 56^th minute, HBU evened the score. Natalie Hager scored off a cross from Rebekah Tovar to knot the game at 1.
 
The Huskies scored the game-winner a little over seven minutes later. Ellee Hall finished a pass from Kelsey Missimer to give HBU the one-goal final margin.
 
The winner of the first round match between SLU and HBU will face Sam Houston State in Friday's semifinals. On Sunday, the championship match is set for 1:05 p.m. and will air on ESPN3. The winner of the tournament will earn an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. SLU, the reigning league tournament champion, has previously earned NCAA Tournament appearances in 2009 and 2013.
 
2014 Southland Conference Tournament – Nov. 6-9 – Beaumont, Texas
 
First Round – Thursday, Nov. 6
Match 1 – No. 3 Houston Baptist vs. No. 6 Southeastern Louisiana, 4:30 p.m. (SLC DN)
Match 2 – No. 4 McNeese State vs. No. 5 Nicholls, 7 p.m. (SLC DN)
 
Semifinals – Friday, Nov. 7
Match 3 – Match 1 winner vs. No. 2 Sam Houston State, 4:30 p.m. (SLC DN)
Match 4  - Match 2 winner vs. No. 1 Stephen F. Austin, 7 p.m. (SLC DN)
 
Finals – Sunday, Nov. 9
Match 5 – Match 3 winner vs. Match 4 winner, 1:05 p.m. (ESPN3)