Texas Lutheran Defeats Southwestern in Penalties; Advance to SCAC Championship for First Time Since 2017

SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- The No. 2 seed Texas Lutheran women's soccer team (11-7-2) advanced to the SCAC Championship following a penalty kick shootout over No. 3 seed Southwestern Friday night at Paul McGinlay Field on the campus of Trinity University.

Alyssa Simien (San Antonio/Warren), the newly christened SCAC Co-Offensive Player of the Year, got the Bulldogs on the board first with a 40th-minute goal assisted by Ana Parra (San Antonio/Brennan) - her ninth assist of the season. Parra is now two assists away from matching the TLU single-season record currently held by Katie Buehler (2007). Gabriela Varela (San Antonio/Warren) would double the Bulldogs lead in the 57th-minute scoring on a penalty kick for her second goal of the season.

Southwestern would net two goals on corner kicks in the second half including one in the final two minutes to send the game to extra time. Following two sudden death overtime periods, the Bulldogs advanced  via a 3-2 score in penalties. It is the first time since 2018 that the Bulldogs have gone to penalties and the Bulldogs first win in three SCAC Tournament matches that have gone to penalty shootouts.

Southwestern had more chances than the Bulldogs throughout, recording 18 shots (10 on goal), compared to TLU's 10 shots (five on goal).

Sophomore goalkeeper Madison Johnson (Pflugerville/Hendrickson) was a star in-goal for the Bulldogs playing the full-time plus PKs - finishing the match with eight saves.

Texas Lutheran advances to their first SCAC Championship appearance since the 2017 season as their quest for their first SCAC Championship continues on Sunday against No. 7/9 Trinity, the 2022 regular season champion and host of the 2022 SCAC Tournament. The match is scheduled for 1 PM at Paul McGinlay Field and all streaming and live stats links will be available on tlubulldogs.com.

For all updates on Texas Lutheran Women's Soccer, follow @tluwsoc on Twitter and Instagram and as always you can find updates on all Texas Lutheran athletics on tlubulldogs.com and all official TLU social media channels (@tluathletics on Twitter, @tlu_athletics on Instagram and TikTok, and @tlubulldogs on Facebook).