2023 Southland Conference women's soccer tournament

2023 Southland Conference women's soccer tournament
2023 Southland Conference women's soccer tournament
Classification	Division I
Teams	7
Matches	6
Attendance	897
Site	Dr. Jack Dugan Soccer & Track Stadium; Corpus Christi, Texas
Champions	Lamar (4 title)
Winning coach	Nathan Kougat (2 title)
MVP	Arely Alaniz (Lamar)
Broadcast	ESPN+
Southland Conference women's soccer tournament
«2022	2024»

2023 Southland Conference women's soccer standings
v t e	Conf						Overall
Team	W		L		T	PCT	W		L		T	PCT
Lamar ‍†‍‡‍^y	9	–	0	–	1	.950	15	–	3	–	3	.786
Texas A&M–Commerce* ‍‍‍	7	–	1	–	2	.800	9	–	7	–	3	.553
McNeese ‍‍‍	5	–	3	–	2	.600	9	–	8	–	4	.524
Northwestern State ‍‍‍	4	–	5	–	1	.450	6	–	10	–	3	.395
Texas A&M–Corpus Christi ‍‍‍	4	–	5	–	1	.450	7	–	8	–	4	.474
Southeastern Louisiana ‍‍‍	4	–	5	–	1	.450	6	–	10	–	2	.389
Houston Christian ‍‍‍	4	–	6	–	0	.400	7	–	11	–	0	.389
Incarnate Word ‍‍‍	3	–	6	–	1	.350	6	–	8	–	2	.438
Nicholls ‍‍‍	0	–	9	–	1	.050	1	–	17	–	1	.079


† – Conference champion ‡ – 2023 Southland Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament Texas A&M–Commerce ineligible for postseason NCAA Championship play due to transition from NCAA Division II^[1] As of December 5, 2023 Rankings from United Soccer Coaches Poll Source: Southland Conference

The 2023 Southland Conference women's soccer tournament, the postseason women's soccer tournament for the Southland Conference, was held from November 1 to November 5, 2023. The six-match tournament took place at the Dr. Jack Dugan Soccer & Track Stadium in Corpus Christi, Texas.^[2] The seven-team single-elimination tournament consisted of three rounds based on seeding from regular season conference play. In a tournament which included three matches that were decided by penalty kicks, Lamar, the defending champions, won its fourth overall Southland Conference tournament championship and its second consecutive tournament championship in a 3-1 match vs #3 seed, McNeese.

Media

All matches were broadcast on ESPN+.

Seeding

Seven Southland Conference teams participated in the 2023 Tournament. Seeding was based on regular season conference records.

Seed	School	Conference Record	Points	Tie breaking
1	Lamar	9–0–1	28	No tie. Seeded based on overall points.
2	Texas A&M–Commerce	7–1–2	23	No tie. Seeded based on overall points.
3	McNeese	5–3–2	17	No tie. Seeded based on overall points.
4	Northwestern State	4–5–1	13	Head to head. 1–0–0 vs TAMU–CC. 1–0–0 vs SELU.
5	Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	4–5–1	13	Head to head. 1–0–0 vs SELU.
6	Southeastern Louisiana	4–5–1	13	Head to head. 0–0–1 vs TAMU–CC.
7	Houston Christian	4–6–0	12	No tie. Seeded based on overall points.

^[3] ^[4]

Bracket

Source:^[5]^[6]^[7]

First Round Wednesday, November 1			Semifinals Friday, November 3			Final Sunday, November 5

			1	Lamar (pen.)	1 (5)

			4	Northwestern State	1 (4)
4	Northwestern State (pen.)	1 (4)

5	Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	1 (3)
						1	Lamar	3

						3	McNeese	1
2	Texas A&M–Commerce	1

7	Houston Christian	2
			3	McNeese	1

			7	Houston Christian	0
3	McNeese (pen.)	1 (4)

6	Southeastern Louisiana	1 (3)

Schedule

First Round

November 1, 2023	#3 McNeese	1–1 (a.e.t.) (4–3 p)	#6 Southeastern Louisiana	Corpus Christi, TX
1:00 pm	Kaile Kukaua 4' 54'	Report	Nicole O'Neill 52' Skye Kennedy 62' Emma Jones 71'	Stadium: Dr. Jack Dugan Soccer & Track Stadium Attendance: 93 Referee: Trevor Rappleye Assistant referees: Shawn Mire Assistant referees: Emily Donahue Fourth official: Derek Smolik ^[8]

November 1, 2023	#2 Texas A&M–Commerce	1–2	#7 Houston Christian	Corpus Christi, TX
4:00 pm	Melissa Storey 53'	Report	Katie Marker 8' Ryan Ford 50' Emily Jaimes 72' Lauren Avila 72'	Stadium: Dr. Jack Dugan Soccer & Track Stadium Attendance: 119 Referee: Arturo Ibarra Assistant referees: Bernardo an Steenberghe Assistant referees: Muhammad Kaleia Fourth official: Seun Yinka-Kehinde ^[9]

November 1, 2023	#4 Northwestern State	1–1 (a.e.t.) (4–3 p)	#5 Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	Corpus Christi, TX
7:00 pm	Mai-Lisa Atis 47' Alina Graf 47'	Report	Emme' Fernandez 68' Reese Cross 55' Maggie Murray 104'	Stadium: Dr. Jack Dugan Soccer & Track Stadium Attendance: 238 Referee: Seun Yinka-Kehinde Assistant referees: Fevzi Demirhan Assistant referees: Christopher Luna Fourth official: Arturo Ibarra ^[10]

Semifinals

November 3, 2023	#3 McNeese	1–0	#7 Houston Christian	Corpus Christi, TX
4:00 pm	Morgan Schooley 46' 37' Kaile Kukaua 71'	Report	Mia Salas 68'	Stadium: Dr. Jack Dugan Soccer & Track Stadium Attendance: 129 Referee: Muhammad Kaleia Assistant referees: Arturo Ibarra Assistant referees: Fevzi Demirhan Fourth official: Seun Yinka-Kehinde ^[11]

November 3, 2023	#1 Lamar	1–1 (a.e.t.) (5–4 p)	#4 Northwestern State	Corpus Christi, TX
7:00 pm	Cariel Ellis 57' Kaisa Juvonen 42' Riley Wilson 106' Caragan Childs 106'	Report	Sabrina Lopez 88'	Stadium: Dr. Jack Dugan Soccer & Track Stadium Attendance: 141 Referee: Jennifer Dumaine Assistant referees: Jorge Perez Assistant referees: Christopher Luna Fourth official: Bernardo Van Steenberghe ^[12]

Final

November 5, 2023	#1 Lamar	3–1	#3 McNeese	Corpus Christi, TX
1:00 pm	Arely Alaniz 27' Trinity Clark 59' Eva Karen 63' Riley Wilson 60'	Report	Kiana Kukaua 60'	Stadium: Dr. Jack Dugan Soccer & Track Stadium Attendance: 177 Referee: Fevzi Demirhan Assistant referees: Seun Yinka-Kehinde Assistant referees: Jennifer Dumaine Fourth official: Christopher Luna ^[13]

All-Tournament team

Source:^[14]^[15]

Player	Team
Arely Alaniz	Lamar
Cariel Ellis
Trinity Clark
Hollie Massey
Riley Wilson
Jackie Kelly	McNeese
Kiana Kukaua
Kaile Kukaua
Morgan Schooley
Lauren Avilla	Houston Christian
Caroline Hilliard	Northwestern State

MVP in bold

References

^ "Texas A&M University-Commerce Officially Joins NCAA Division I and the Southland Conference". Texas A&M University-Commerce. July 1, 2022. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
^ Maria Howell (November 4, 2023). "Tracking 2023 DI women's college conference soccer tournament schedules, automatic bids for the NCAA tournament". NCAA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
^ "Soccer Tie-Breaking Procedures". Southland Conference. Retrieved October 29, 2023.
^ "2023 Women's Soccer Head To Head Record". Southland Conference. Retrieved October 29, 2023.
^ Matt Faye (November 2, 2023). "Lamar soccer starts Southland tournament as top seed". Hearst Newspapers, LLC. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
^ "2023 Southland Conference soccer tournament". Southland Conference. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
^ "2023-24 Championship Calendar". Southland Conference. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
^ "DI Women's Soccer - Southeastern LA. vs McNeese". Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
^ "DI Women's Soccer - Houston Christian vs Texas A&M-Commerce". Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
^ "DI Women's Soccer - Northwestern St. vs A&M-Corpus Christi". Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
^ "DI Women's Soccer - Houston Christian vs McNeese". Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
^ "DI Women's Soccer - Northwestern State vs. Lamar". Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
^ "DI Women's Soccer - McNeese vs Lamar University". Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
^ Kenneth Cline (November 5, 2023). "BACK-TO-BACK: Cards Make History With Second Straight Conference Title". Lamar University Athletics. Retrieved November 6, 2023. Arely Alaniz etched herself as the SLC tournament MVP by being one of three Cardinals to score in the match along with Trinity Clark and Eva Karen. Cariel Ellis and Alana Clark recorded assists in the match on the goals while Nicole Panis finished with four saves in goal. Alaniz was one of five members on the all-tournament team along with Trinity Clark, Ellis, Hollie Massey, and Riley Wilson.
^ Taylor Riemersma (November 5, 2023). "MCNEESE CONCLUDES 2023 CAMPAIGN IN SLC CHAMPIONSHIPS AGAINST LAMAR". McNeese State University Athletics. Four players were named to the All-Tournament team, highlighted by junior Jackie Kelly, a goalkeeper, senior Kiana Kukaua, a midfielder, sister Kaile Kukaua, a junior midfielder, and senior defender Morgan Schooley.

[1] "Texas A&M University-Commerce Officially Joins NCAA Division I and the Southland Conference". Texas A&M University-Commerce. July 1, 2022. Retrieved September 16, 2022.

[2] Maria Howell (November 4, 2023). "Tracking 2023 DI women's college conference soccer tournament schedules, automatic bids for the NCAA tournament". NCAA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved November 4, 2023.

[3] "Soccer Tie-Breaking Procedures". Southland Conference. Retrieved October 29, 2023.

[4] "2023 Women's Soccer Head To Head Record". Southland Conference. Retrieved October 29, 2023.

[5] Matt Faye (November 2, 2023). "Lamar soccer starts Southland tournament as top seed". Hearst Newspapers, LLC. Retrieved November 4, 2023.

[6] "2023 Southland Conference soccer tournament". Southland Conference. Retrieved October 9, 2023.

[7] "2023-24 Championship Calendar". Southland Conference. Retrieved October 9, 2023.

[8] "DI Women's Soccer - Southeastern LA. vs McNeese". Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved November 4, 2023.

[9] "DI Women's Soccer - Houston Christian vs Texas A&M-Commerce". Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved November 4, 2023.

[10] "DI Women's Soccer - Northwestern St. vs A&M-Corpus Christi". Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved November 4, 2023.

[11] "DI Women's Soccer - Houston Christian vs McNeese". Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved November 4, 2023.

[12] "DI Women's Soccer - Northwestern State vs. Lamar". Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved November 4, 2023.

[13] "DI Women's Soccer - McNeese vs Lamar University". Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved November 6, 2023.

[14] Kenneth Cline (November 5, 2023). "BACK-TO-BACK: Cards Make History With Second Straight Conference Title". Lamar University Athletics. Retrieved November 6, 2023. Arely Alaniz etched herself as the SLC tournament MVP by being one of three Cardinals to score in the match along with Trinity Clark and Eva Karen. Cariel Ellis and Alana Clark recorded assists in the match on the goals while Nicole Panis finished with four saves in goal. Alaniz was one of five members on the all-tournament team along with Trinity Clark, Ellis, Hollie Massey, and Riley Wilson.

[15] Taylor Riemersma (November 5, 2023). "MCNEESE CONCLUDES 2023 CAMPAIGN IN SLC CHAMPIONSHIPS AGAINST LAMAR". McNeese State University Athletics. Four players were named to the All-Tournament team, highlighted by junior Jackie Kelly, a goalkeeper, senior Kiana Kukaua, a midfielder, sister Kaile Kukaua, a junior midfielder, and senior defender Morgan Schooley.

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