Soccer Prepares For SWAC Tournament Opener Thursday Afternoon

PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas – The No. 6 seed Texas Southern University soccer team opens up postseason play this afternoon as the first round of the 2019 Southwestern Athletic Conference Soccer Tournament kicks off against No. 3 Jackson State at 3 p.m. inside the PVAMU Soccer Complex.

TSU is coming off a tough loss to in-state rival Prairie View A&M last weekend as the difference in the game was an own goal in the 1-0 decision. Own goals were the difference in two of the past three games for TSU.

The Tigers finished the regular season with a 5-4-1 SWAC mark and a sixth-place finish. Since 2011, TSU leads the series 4-2-1 against Jackson State as the last match resulted in 1-0 victory for Jackson State.

Head Coach Lindsay Vera gives insight on how big the SWAC tournament is for her team.

“It’s huge for us,” she said. “The seed that we were actually placed in is helpful to us because I think we have a strong chance to get through on Thursday with a good performance that will lead to the rest of the way on Sunday.”

Coach Vera also talks about how the 2019 regular season schedule benefited them in more ways than one leading up to the SWAC tournament.

“I think every team has come out and given us a good challenge but I don’t think any team has completely outplayed us,” she said. “I think we’re in it as much as every other team but the difference is our mentality.”

Last season, TSU advanced to the semifinals of the SWAC Tournament as they were knocked out by a penalty kick from Howard University.