Lady Tiger soccer team defeats Hutchinson 3-0 to advance to nationals unbeaten

The NJCAA Division 1 Women's Soccer Championships will be held on November 16-22 in Enid, OK.

The Lady Tigers remain unbeaten with a record of 14-0-4, while Hutchinson falls to 13-3-4.

"The girls really like the trip to nationals and worked hard to get there," Cowley head coach Roberto dos Santos said.

Cowley did all of its scoring in the first half as it built a commanding 3-0 halftime advantage. In fact, all three of the Lady Tiger goals came in the game's first 32 minutes of play.

"We came out strong and capitalized on several of the opportunities we created," dos Santos said.

Sophomore Louyse Cristine, who scored two of her three goals on the season in Cowley's previous contest, got the scoring started by scoring her fourth goal only 13:51 into Saturday's contest.

"Louyse stepped in and has been doing a great job of holding the midfield and scoring goals," dos Santos said.

Sara Cortes would add her team-leading 19^th goal of the season off an assist from Saki Sanno, eight minutes later.  Sophie Knaab capped the scoring on an assist from Cortes with 12:43 left before halftime.

With the commanding lead, Cowley continued to pressure Hutchinson, outshooting the Blue Dragons 10-5 in the second half of the 3-0 victory.

Lady Tiger goalkeeper Jessica Suelly stopped all three shots she faced to record her third straight shutout. Suelly has allowed only one goal in Cowley's last four games and now has 10 shutouts on the season.

Cowley will await its seeding and opponent to open the national tournament.

"We know nationals are an entirely different battle, but after going through the grind of the season, the girls know the importance of being focused and prepared," dos Santos said.