Tourney-bound and ready to leave it all on the field

Fatigue, scrapes and bruises usually overcome them through a normal day's practice; the thing is, today is not normal as they have bigger things on their mind. With a greater work ethic and higher levels of concentration, the lady Bulldogs are once again on their way to the American Southwest Conference Championship Tournament this week.

"It feels really good because we had a really shaky season as we went through many hardships, but this is my last year as as a senior so we had to make it to the tournament," Erin Peterson, senior kinesiology major, said.

According to the TLU Web site, the women's soccer team secured the sixth and final seed for the upcoming conference tournament by virtue of a three-way tiebreaker with Howard Payne and East Texas Baptist. According to Peterson, their final spot in the tournament is a wake-up call for the team.

"Throughout any season you are going to go through many ups and downs, but what you learn from the season makes you who you are," Peterson said. "We weren't doing well at first and now with us barely getting into the tournament, it's like we have been given a second chance."

TLU (9-9) will play No. 3 seed Mississippi College (16-3) at 2 p.m. Friday at the HSU Soccer Complex in Abilene, Texas. According to senior kinesiology major Rebecca Hill, this is the seniors last chance to leave it all on the field to achieve a common goal.

"This tournament means everything to us as we have the potential to go far in it," Hill said. "We have the potential to beat all these teams in the tournament so we need to work together and we wil have no problem in pulling the championship out."