CONWAY, Ark. – The fourth-seeded Southeastern Louisiana women's soccer team will look to book a trip to the first round of the Women's College Cup when it meets No. 3 Sam Houston State in the Southland Conference championship match Sunday at 1 p.m. at Central Arkansas' Bill Stephens Soccer Complex.
       
    The winner gets the conference's automatic bid into the first round of the NCAA Tournament scheduled for Nov. 15-17.
       
    "I think it's going to be a very spirited match tomorrow," Southeastern head coach Blake Hornbuckle said. "Both teams are going to come out with everything on the line to play for. With the heightened sense of tomorrow's game, every ball is going to be a battle, every possession is going to be important so we're looking forward to getting out and executing on both sides of the ball."
       
    The championship match will be carried on ESPN3 via WatchESPN.com. Live stats are available at sidearmstats.com/southland/wsoc/
       
    Tickets are available through the Central Arkansas ticket office.
       
    Southeastern (13-4-3, 6-3-2 SLC) advanced to the finals with a 2-0 upset of top-seeded and regular season champion Stephen F. Austin on Friday. Sophomore midfielder Maggie Ramsey headed in a pass from senior midfielder Gisenia Utreras 7:24 into the match and junior goalkeeper Hope Sabadash and the Lady Lion defense made the goal stand up, staving off 20 shots. Sabadash, the conference goalkeeper of the year, made seven saves for her ninth shutout of the season.
       
    Southeastern defeated No. 5 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the first round behind goals by senior forward Kayla Vera, Utreras and Ramsey,
       
    Sam Houston (10-6-3, 6-3-2 SLC) advanced with a 2-0 win over No. 2 seed Houston Baptist later Friday. The Bearkats' Allie Johnson scored twice in the first half while Kylie Hambleton made six saves.
       
    Sam Houston opened the tournament by defeating host and No. 6 seed Central Arkansas 4-3 on penalty kicks after the teams played to a 0-0 tie through regulation and two overtime periods.
       
    Southeastern, playing in its 10th title game, will be looking for its fourth title after winning in 1998, 2009 and '13. Sam Houston will be out for its first championship, having lost to Northwestern State 1-0 in overtime in 2005 in its only other title game appearance.
       
    The match will feature the top two defensive teams in the conference. That defense was on display earlier this season when the teams played to a 0-0 tie in Huntsville despite combining for 32 shots, including 13 on goal. Sabadash made five saves for the Lady Lions while Hambleton had eight for Sam Houston.
       
    Southeastern has allowed 18 goals to date while posting nine shutouts. Sabadash has a .87 goals against average, nine shutouts and 88 saves. Sam Houston is right behind with 19 goals allowed. The Bearkats recorded a .88 GAA with eight shutouts, including three in their past four matches. Hambleton, a senior, ranked in the top three in the conference with a .94 GAA, 88 saves and six shutouts.
       
    Offensively, the Lady Lions come into the match with 45 goals, 43 assists and 136 points, all among the conference leaders. Utreras is among the league leaders and ranks in the Lady Lions' top 10 season list with 33 points, nine assists and 12 goals. She had seven points on three goals and an assist in a 7-1 win over Incarnate Word earlier this season and also had a three-assist game in a 5-2 win at Mississippi Valley.
       
    Ramsey has scored seven goals while sophomore midfielder Ana Zadro and junior forwards Bri Singh and Marisa Rodrigues four apiece. Zadro also has seven assists while freshman forward/midfielder Sofia Olsson has five.
       
    Sam Houston has scored 24 goals and recorded 18 assists this season. Johnson, a junior forward, was named honorable mention all-conference after ranking in the top 10 with eight goals and 17 points. She has scored a goal in four of the past five matches.
       
    Senior midfielder Mariah Titus made first team all-conference with five goals and five assists. Sophomore defender Caitlin Schwartz was also first-team All-SLC selection while senior forward Shelby McDaniel made the honorable mention team.  
       
    Southeastern is 4-0-1 in its last five matches. Sam Houston also comes into Sunday's match on a five-match unbeaten streak, including a 1-0 win over regular season champion Stephen F. Austin. Friday's win gave the Bearkats 10 victories for the first time in school history.
    
    Southeastern leads the series 7-5-2.