BOX SCORE

WEATHERFORD, Okla. – Top-seeded and 18th-ranked Southwestern Oklahoma State had its high-powered offense working in sync as the Bulldogs convincingly advanced to their first Great American Conference Women’s Soccer Championship title game with a 4-0 defeat of Harding on Friday from the Southwestern Sports Complex.
 
The Bulldogs (18-0-1) got on the board in the 12th minute when Second-Team All-GAC forward Cori Kelly scored her sixth goal of the season off a feed from Paige Doherty. When the Bulldogs continued to attack throughout the rest of the opening 45 minutes, the margin remained the just one goal entering the second half.
 
In that second half, the Bulldogs offensive prowess came to the forefront, as they spent most of the final 45 minutes on the Lady Bisons’ half of the field. Eleven of their 13 shots and eight of their 10 corner kicks came in the second half. GAC Offensive Player of the Year Josie Price doubled to margin when she adeptly beat Harding goalkeeper Danielle Nonaka to a free ball and deposited a shot into an open net.
 
“We talked about [scoring that first goal] in getting ready for the game,” Bulldog head coach Mark Persson said. “Harding is a great team. They work hard, they’re organized and they’ll play you the whole 90 minutes. Going into the second half, getting that second goal was really important for us. It helped settle the game down for us.”
 
Barely nine minutes later, freshman Miranda Balezentis took advantage of her second great scoring chance of the half to up the SWOSU advantage to 3-0. Doherty notched the final Bulldog goal as she weaved her way through tight openings and blasted a shot into the right portion of the net.
 
Harding (7-9-2) targeted only one shot at GAC Goalkeeper of the Year Corey LaMoureaux. She earned her 13th shutout and lowered her goals-against average on the year to 0.47.
 
The Bulldogs will face the No. 3 seed Ouachita Baptist for the title. For the second year in a row, the Lady Tigers upset the tournament’s second seed to advance to the title game. Last season, they made it to the final by beating the Bulldogs, 1-0. Sunday will mark the one-year anniversary of that game, which happens to be the last lost suffered by the Bulldogs.
 
This season, SWOSU scored a 1-0 victory in Arkadelphia and a 4-2 win in Weatherford on the final day of the regular season. In that second game, Ouachita Baptist led 1-0 and 2-1 as Lauren Hatch scored a pair of goals. Josie Price scored twice for the Bulldogs, including the game winner.
 
The GAC Sports Network will stream the game free of charge at GreatAmericanConference.com.