November 2, 2015
SOCCER (W): MARSHALL, Texas (11/3/15) - For the second time in three seasons, the East Texas Baptist University women's soccer team will compete in the American Southwest Conference Championship Tournament. It will face top-seeded and No. 9-ranked Texas-Tyler on Tuesday night in Tyler, Texas, at 7 p.m.
ETBU finished the regular season at 5-12-0 overall and was 3-7-0 in the ASC. It became the No. 8 seed on Oct. 31 when Howard Payne University lost to Louisiana College, giving ETBU a the higher winning percentage to qualify. ETBU defeated host McMurry University, 4-0, on Saturday night. Last weekend alone, five different ETBU players scored at least one goal, including Stephanie Castillo who had two goals. The shutout victory on Oct. 31 against McMurry represented ETBU's second clean sheet this season. Interestingly, the two shutouts were bookended on the first and last days of the month of October with ETBU's previous shutout win occurring on Oct. 1 against University of the Ozarks (Ark.).
For the season, Castillo and Heather Brady are tied for the team lead in goals scored with six apiece. Additionally, Brady paces ETBU with 16 points on the strength of a half dozen goals and four assists, and Castillo has a team-best 57 shots. Erin Miller leads ETBU with 25 shots on-goal. Defensively, goalkeeper Christina Salas has played the full duration in ETBU's past 11 matches, making 49 saves over that span.
This appearance in the ASC Championship Tournament is ETBU's ninth-ever in program history, following previous appearances in 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2012, and 2013. Coincidentally, ETBU's most-recent ASC Championship Tournament match also paired it up against Texas-Tyler, ending in a 2-1 double-overtime Texas-Tyler victory back on Nov. 7, 2013. In a match that went into the 103rd minute, Chestley Strother scored the golden goal for Texas-Tyler. ETBU goalkeeper Salas stopped an even 10 shots in the defeat.
Earlier this season, ETBU lost a road match to then-No. 12-ranked Texas-Tyler, 5-0, on Oct. 3. In that match, five different players contributed a goal for Texas-Tyler, including Strother who chipped in a goal and two assists. ETBU fired off five shots in the match with Castillo's shot on-goal in the 44th minute being saved by Texas-Tyler goalkeeper Hannah Fischer.
Currently ranked ninth per the Oct. 27 edition of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America's Top 25 Poll for NCAA Division III, Texas-Tyler is also fourth in the Oct. 28 edition of the NCAA Division III West Region Rankings. Texas-Tyler completed its regular-season schedule unbeaten at 15-0-1 and undefeated in ASC matches at 9-0-0. In its regular-season finale, Texas-Tyler shut out host Concordia University (Texas), 3-0, on Oct. 31, its 13th shutout in 16 matches this season.
Morgan Monzingo paces Texas-Tyler with 13 goals scored and 30 points, narrowly edging teammate Strother who has 29 points (6 goals, 17 assists). Texas-Tyler has allowed three goals this season with goalkeepers Emily Hurley and Fischer sharing the bulk of the minutes between the posts. Hurley has made nine saves, and Fischer has stopped 12 shots.
ETBU faces Texas-Tyler on Tuesday, 7 p.m., at Citizens 1st Bank-Perkins Soccer Complex.