Islanders to Face SFA in First Round of SLC Tournament

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BEAUMONT, Texas – The eighth-seeded Texas A&M-Corpus Christi soccer program qualified for the Southland Conference Tournament and will look to upset top-seeded Stephen F. Austin in the first round Tuesday at 11 a.m. at the Lamar Soccer Complex.
 
It marks the first time in program history that A&M-Corpus Christi (4-8-4, 3-5-3 SLC) will play in the conference tournament in consecutive seasons.
 
"We are excited to make program history by making it to back-to-back tournaments. But we are not going there to be just participants, we are going to show everyone they have underestimated us," said head coach Craig Shaw.
 
The Islanders defeated the Ladyjacks (10-5-2, 8-3 SLC) in the regular season meeting 2-1 on March 19. In that game, freshman Maggie Murray scored in the fourth minute and freshman Olivia Alvarez tallied the game-winner in the 59th minute on a top-shelf goal from outside the box.
 
A&M-Corpus Christi out-shot SFA 18-15 in the game and held a 9-5 edge in corner kicks.
 
Since then, the Ladyjacks have won four games in a row to close out the campaign as SLC regular season champions.
 
On the year, the Islanders were led by Murray who recorded four goals and 10 points. She started in 15 games, the most of any student-athlete on the roster.
 
Alvarez and seniors Abby Deakin and Larissa Fagundes all scored three goals on the season to aid the attack. Deakin played a team-high 1,217 minutes and fired a team-high 31 shots with 22 on goal.
 
In net, senior Kyleigh Hall started the last 13 games and posted four shutouts. She led the league in saves with 71 in conference games.
 
A&M-Corpus Christi is unbeaten in its last three games against the Ladyjacks dating back to 2018.
 
It will be just the fourth-ever conference tournament appearance for the Islanders since beginning the program in 2013. They advanced to the semifinals in 2019, which was the furthest they've ever gotten.
 
If A&M-Corpus Christi defeats SFA, it would play in the semifinals at 4 p.m. Thursday. The championship game is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. Saturday. All matches of the tournament will be streamed on ESPN+.
 
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