Houston Advances to Conference Tournament

DALLAS - Houston fell to in-state rival SMU in a 2-3 decision, Thursday evening at Westcott Field. Despite the loss, the Cougars will advance to the American Athletic Conference tournament for the first time in program history, as the sixth seed.

QUOTES FROM COACH
"It was rough to go down and lose to SMU, 3-2. We battled hard, we played really, really well. It's tough to come back from two penalty kicks, even though Sammy [Samantha Cude] saved one. What a great effort from our players tonight.

We were fortunate to have all other results go our way, so for the first time in our program history, we have qualified for the top six and are going to the conference tournament. I'm so excited for our players, especially our seniors. They deserve that. I was not ready to be done with our season and neither were they. So, we get to live another day and play on Sunday." said Head Coach Diego Bocanegra.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Houston found the back of the net and got on the board when Madison Gear scored from Emma Clarke and Desiree Bowen, inside the 23^rd minute.
SMU answered inside the 56^th minute, then again inside the 67^th minute when it scored off of a penalty kick.
The Mustangs notched their final goal inside the 83^rd minute to maintain their lead.
The Cougars shortened the distance and tallied their final goal when Jazmin Grant connected with a header from Lauren Flowers, inside the 87^th minute.
Samantha Cude played 85 minutes in-goal for Houston, posting seven saves.
Houston tallied 12 shots and six corner kicks on the day.

OTHER MATCH NOTABLES

Houston falls to 6-13-0 on the season.
Houston is now 3-8-0 on the road this season.
SMU owns the all-time series, 15-1-2

GOING DANCING
Houston will advance to the American Athletic Conference tournament for the first time in program history, as the sixth seed. The Cougars will face three seed UCF, on Sunday at 12 p.m. CT.

STAY CONNECTED
Fans can keep up with the latest in University of Houston Cougar athletics by following us on Facebook (Facebook.com/HoustonAthletics), Twitter (@UHCougars), Instagram (houstoncougars) and YouTube.com (Youtube.com/UHAthletics). In addition, the soccer team has established its own official Facebook (Facebook.com/UHCougarSoccer) and Twitter pages (@UHCougarSoccer), which provide regular updates on the team and live results during home matches.

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Jazmin Grant

Madison Gear

Desiree Bowen

Lauren Flowers

Players Mentioned