Nov. 2, 2005

ABILENE, Texas - Hardin-Simmons' 10th-ranked women's soccer team will look for its third straight conference title when it hosts the American Southwest Conference Championship Tournament this weekend.

The Cowgirls come into the tournament as the No. 1 seed after blitzing through the regular season conference schedule with a 13-0 record. HSU has won 15 straight games and are now 17-1-0 on the year.

Leading a balanced attack for the Cowgirls has been juniors Mindi Zamora and Whitney Piendak. Zamora, a forward from Harlingen, has 13 goals and 10 assists on the year. Piendak, a midfielder from Southlake, leads the team with 14 goals.

Freshman Morgan Loyd and sophomore Beth Craig have also reached doubles figures in goals scored with 11 and 10 respectively. The Cowgirls are averaging 5.34 goals per game, which is tops in the nation.

The Cowgirls impressive offense often times overshadows the stingy defense. HSU has allowed only seven goals and 93 shots the entire season. The Cowgirls have allowed just one goal in the last nine games and have recorded six straight shutouts.

HSU's strong defense is spearheaded by four-year starter Natalie Longhofer. The physical defender from Amarillo keeps most teams from even getting a good look at the net. Laura Newbrough and Kelly Watson give the Cowgirls a backline that is as formidable as any in the country.

April Johnson leads the Cowgirls in goal. She has a 0.36 goals against average which ranks 15th in the nation. She has allowed only five goals the entire season.

The tournament will begin on Friday with a pair of games. Third-seed East Texas Baptist (12-6-1) will play the sixth seed LeTourneau (8-11-1) at 11 a.m. at Shotwell Stadium. The winner of that game will advance to a Saturday semifinal match with second-seeded UT-Dallas (14-2-1) at Shotwell at 11 a.m.

The other half of the bracket has fourth-seeded Austin College (11-5-1) playing fifth seed Mississippi College (11-6-) at 8 a.m. at the HSU Soccer Complex. The winner will play Hardin-Simmons at 8 a.m. Saturday for the right to play in the finals. The championship game is slated for noon, Sunday, at the HSU Soccer Complex.