CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Ellie Williams scored her fourth goal of the season on a cross from Darby Gillette in the 64^th minute as the Southeastern Louisiana University women's soccer team defeated Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 1-0, Thursday in the quarterfinals of the 2021 Southland Conference Women's Soccer Tournament at Dr. Jack Dugan Track and Soccer Complex.
 
The match was originally scheduled for Wednesday night but was postponed to Thursday morning due to a power outage at the stadium.
 
The Lady Lions (7-8-3, 4-5-3 Southland) have won four straight Southland Tournament matches with all four coming via shutout. SLU goalkeeper Nadine Maher, the reigning Southland Tournament MVP, was once again spectacular. The senior had five first half saves to keep SLU in the match as the Islanders outshot the Lady Lions 9-3 in the first half
 
A&M-Corpus Christi (7-11-1, 5-6-1 Southland) had several chances in the first half as they had five shots on goal. But Maher made a couple of acrobatic saves to turn away the Islanders.
 
In the second half, it was all Lady Lions as they had possession in the Islanders' attacking third for most of the half. Southeastern had four shots on goal in the final 45 minutes while the Islanders had none.
 
Midway through the second half, the Lady Lions were able to break through as Gillette played a cross from the far side corner to Williams right in front of the Islanders' net. Williams, the junior from Frisco, Texas, deflected it into the bottom left corner of the net for the match's only goal, helping send SLU to the Southland semifinals for the second straight year.
 
"The wind was a big factor today," said SLU head soccer coach Chris McBride. "We knew if we could hold strong in the first half that we would be able to get better opportunities in the second half. I felt like we did a good job of attacking down the left side with Darby and Mya (Guillory). I also thought Claire (Huston) and Megan (Gordon) did a good job in midfield all game long. And then we got the cross from Darby and Ellie attacked it in the box and we were able to convert. But overall it was a great team win top to bottom."
 
A&M-Corpus Christi finished the match with 11 shots to eight for SLU. However, the Lady Lions were able to keep the pressure on throughout the match with nine corner kicks, four in the first half and five in the second.
 
Mya Guillory and Makenzie Maher led Southeastern with two shots each while Nadine Maher faced 11 shots with five saves.
 
Next up, SLU will take on top-seeded Northwestern State (10-5-2, 10-2-0 Southland) Friday at 7 p.m. in the semifinals. The two teams played a thriller last year in the quarterfinals of the Southland Tournament with SLU winning in penalty kicks, 5-3. Maher sealed the win for the Lady Lions with a spectacular diving save as the Lady Lions would go on to win the 2020 Southland Tournament title four days later. However, Northwestern State defeated SLU 1-0 in both matches this year.
 
Fans can follow Friday's game as it will be streamed live on ESPN+. Video and live stat links will also be available at the Southeastern soccer schedule page located at LionSports.Net.
 
SCORE ONE MORE CLUB/S CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the women's soccer program are encouraged to join the Score One More Club.  Lion alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners. All membership fees and donations to Score One More Club are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern soccer program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091 or visiting www.LionUp.com.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
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