PRAIRIE VIEW – For the first time since 2014, the Prairie View A&M soccer team will play for the Southwestern Athletic Conference Women's Soccer Tournament Championship following a 2-0 win in semifinal action over Jackson State Friday evening at the PVAMU Soccer Complex.

With the win, Prairie View A&M (12-7) also set a new program record for the most wins in a single season.

The Lady Panthers only needed five seconds to take the upper hand on the scoreboard, as senior defender Alexis Mack cashed in on a try in the initial goings of play to put the No. 2 seed on the board.

Prairie View A&M continued to stay aggressive but wasn't able to generate a quality look on net through the remainder of the first period. However, Jackson State managed a trio of looks late in the half -- including a header attempt from Megan Howell -- but sophomore goalkeeper Quinn Josiah turned away the Lady Tigers on every turn.

Prairie View A&M was put on the defensive as the second half began, but the Lady Panthers refused to wilt under Jackson State's offensive pressure. Ultimately, PVAMU sealed their spot in the championship in the 65th minute as junior midfielder Ashley Chala found the twine for an insurance goal.

Freshman forward Lesa Griffin chipped in a pair of assists in the winning effort, and senior midfielder Gina Zavala de Rojas added an assist.

Josiah made five saves in the shutout win. Prairie View A&M out-shot Jackson State 11-9 in the game, including an 8-5 edge in tries on goal.

Next Up:
Prairie View A&M takes on defending champion and top seed Howard (14-3) in the championship match Sunday at 11 AM. Live stats can be found HERE, and the game will be broadcast on the SWAC Digital Network.

Scouting the Competition:

-   Howard advanced to the finals with wins over Southern and Grambling State in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively. A win would give the Bison their fourth championship in six years. In the teams' regular season meeting, Howard used three second-half scores to defeat Prairie View A&M 3-0.   

- This is the second time that Prairie View A&M has faced Howard in tournament action, with both occasions coming in the finals. In the 2014 tournament championship, Howard prevailed 2-1.

- The Bison come into the match with the league's co-offensive player of the year in Thalia Boucher (eight goals, four assists), defensive player of the year in Kendall Macauley and goalkeeper of the year Alayah Hightower. Additionally, Arianna Morgan and Victoria Thornton are quality offensive options with six goals each.

#pvamusoccer