MARSHALL, Texas – Completing the final two games of the regular season, the East Texas Baptist University women's soccer team heads out to Richardson, Texas to compete in the first round of the American Southwest Conference Championship Tournament. The Tigers will take on the University of Texas Dallas in a rematch from last Friday's game. This marks the 12^th time the Tigers reached the conference tournament, including the last four seasons and seven in the last eight years.
 
On Friday, ETBU took on the Comets of UTD losing 2-0. But the Tigers would bounce back with a senior day 2-0 victory over Howard Payne. Raegan Kappler was responsible for both goals with one coming from an assist by Cristal Monzon-Hernandez. Goalkeeper Claire Montondon recorded her first shutout of the season picking up four saves.
 
ETBU ends the regular season with a record overall of 8-7-1 while their 5-6 conference record puts them as the seventh seed. Collectively, the Tigers have scored 28 goals, with Ashleigh Rondon leading with eight and five assists for 21 points while Kappler has four goals along with four assists to pick up 14 points. Kendall Shirley (four goals), and Brianna Mickshaw (three goals) have also contributed to the offense while Jena Kucera, Daphne Hunt, and Abigail Bath each have two goals.
 
In goal, Maddie Rea has made 38 saves for a goals against average stat of 1.68 while posting two shutouts against Belhaven University and Louisiana College. Karrigan Falber also posted two shutouts against the Mississippi University of Women and Millsaps University.
 
With the conference tournament starting on Tuesday, ETBU will start their run against the #2 seed UTD. The Comets finished 15-1-1 overall, including a 9-1-1 ASC record following a 3-1 victory over LeTourneau University. Jessica Rusk leads the team with eight goals while Sofia Munoz has a point total of 21 on seven goals and assists, which is atop the UTD leaderboard. Goalkeeper Monica Dallacasa ended her regular season with a GAA of 0.31 (five goals allowed) and 10 shutouts while making 45 saves.
 
A few weeks prior, ETBU was out of the playoff picture. By winning three of the final four matches, the Tigers seem to have built momentum as they get set for an opportunity to play the Comets again after four days. For head coach Erik Solberg, the confidence continues to grow for his team. "We're happy to be playing Tuesday," said Coach Solberg. "I love that we're playing two hours down the road. For us, we have a lot of confidence. I'm really proud of where we came from and hopefully with where we're going. I feel really strongly and confidently that if we play our best soccer, we're going to have a chance to win the game and a chance to make history. I'm really proud of us."
 
ETBU kicks off their ASC Conference Tournament Tuesday at 5:00 PM. The winner of this match will take on the winner of #3 Mary Hardin-Baylor and #6 Concordia-Texas on Friday, at Abilene at 8:00 PM.