BEAUMONT, Texas – After a season postponement of six months, the wait was well worth it for the Southeastern Louisiana women's soccer team as they claimed the 2020 Southland Conference Tournament Championship with a 3-0 win over Sam Houston Saturday afternoon at Lamar Soccer Complex.
 
The Lady Lions (8-2-4) opened Saturday's championship on the attack as they outshot the Bearkats (7-6-1) 11-4 in the first half. Junior Jamie Raines scored her first of two goals in the 13^th minute off a corner kick from sophomore Mya Guillory as SLU took a 1-0 lead into halftime.
 
In the second half, Southeastern's defense clamped down as they faced six corner kicks in the half, 11 for the game. But the Lady Lions' backline, which has yielded just three goals in the last 11 matches, never cracked allowing SLU to convert offensively.
 
Raines scored her second goal of the match in the 63^rd minute off a great cross perfectly placed by sophomore Paityn Bretzer giving SLU a 2-0 lead.
 
The final stamp on the victory came from freshman Hailie Yoder. The Gilbert, Arizona native scored off the assist from Raines to give the Lady Lions a 3-0 lead in the 67^th minute as SLU capped off an amazing run with a conference tournament title.
 
"I'm just incredibly proud of this team," said SLU head coach Chris McBride. "The way we have competed with each other all fall and the way we have been like a family. It's been an incredible journey."
 
Senior Nadine Maher recorded her third straight shutout of the tournament. The Dublin, Ireland finished with five saves for the match. The Lady Lions' goalkeeper faced 43 shots for the tournament with 10 saves earning her the 2020 Southland Conference Tournament MVP. She also had the game-saving stop in penalty kicks in Tuesday's quarterfinal win over Northwestern State.
 
"Nadine stepped up in big moments," said McBride. "She's the epitome of a leader that leads by example. Anytime there is a big moment she steps up and never asks for any recognition. I can't ask for any more than I've gotten from her."
 
Joining Maher on the all-tournament team were three fellow teammates including Yoder, Dalton Fish and Megan Gordon. Southeastern finished the tournament with three consecutive shutouts as a result of Maher's leadership.
 
The championship was a culmination that began following a pair of road losses to Central Arkansas and Northwestern State back on Feb. 28 and Feb. 28. Since then the Lady Lions are on an 11 match unbeaten streak (7-0-4). During the streak, SLU has outscored their opponents 18-3 and have allowed just one goal in their last 827 minutes of action.
 
"We were a new team early," said McBride. "So we were just finding out who we were early in the season. We found out in those first few games what we really were about. After that, I felt like we really took a step forward each game and just got a little better each night."
 
Saturday's victory gave Southeastern it's fourth Southland Conference Women's Soccer Tournament title in the program's 25-year history (2009, 2013, 2015).
 
Saturday's win caps off an incredible week for SLU that saw five players get named to the 2020 All-Southland Conference team. Freshman Emma Jones was named Southland Freshman of the Year. Sophomore Makenzie Maher was named Southland Newcomer of the Year, while McBride was voted Southland Coach of the Year.
 
Jones, Fish and Gordon each were named to the All-Southland first team while Makenzie Maher and Mya Guillory were voted to the second team.
 
Despite all the individual and team accolades accumulated this week, SLU isn't done yet. The Lady Lions will play in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament at a date (April 27^th or 28^th) to be determined and an opponent to be announced. The selection show is Monday at 12 p.m.
 
2020 Southland Conference Women's Soccer Tournament
 
Tuesday's First Round Results
*Beaumont, Texas – Lamar Soccer Complex
*All Games on ESPN+
(1) Stephen F. Austin 0, (8) Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 0 (SFA 4-2 Pks)
(5) SLU 0, (4) Northwestern State 0 (SLU 4-3 Pks)
(3) Abilene Christian 3, (6) UIW 0
(7) Sam Houston 4, (2) Lamar 3  
 
Thursday's Semifinals Results
(5) SLU 2, (1) Stephen F. Austin 0
(7) Sam Houston 1, (3) Abilene Christian 0
 
Saturday's Championship Results
(5) SLU 3, (7) Sam Houston 0
 
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
For more information on Southeastern Soccer, follow @LionUpSoccer and @chrismcbride88 on Twitter, like /SLUathletics on Facebook and subscribe to the SLUathletics YouTube channel.
 
TICKETS
For ticket information, please contact the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466 or visit www.LionSports.net/tickets. Southeastern is implementing mobile ticketing as the primary source for securing tickets for the 2020-21 season. All tickets will be available via e-mail in a PDF format for fans to download on their phone or print at home. Tickets can also be downloaded to Apple Wallet.