MEMPHIS - The Tigers played in the SAA Conference Tournament Final today against Rhodes College, with the winner earning a spot in the NCAA Tournament. After just beating the Lynx 1-0 less than a month ago, the Tigers once again defeated the Lynx in a 3-0 win today to win the SAA Championship.

The Rundown 
It was a big game for the Tigers where they would need to show up and show out, with Rhodes surely looking for their revenge after their recent 1-0 loss to Trinity just 3 weeks earlier. However, the Tigers were not planning on letting this happen, knowing the opportunity to play another game was on the line. The Tigers came out on fire, moving the ball around the field like never before. The Lynx barely had a chance to touch the ball. In only the 13th minute of the half, midfielder Malea Cesar (Portland, Ore. / Sunset) played a ball into fellow midfielder Bri Werner (Woodbine, Md. / Glenelg). Werner turned her defender, creating space to dribble, and fired a shot from outside of the 18 yard box. Werner found the upper corner of the net, securing an early 1-0 lead for the Tigers. This was Werner's 7th goal of the season. However, with only a single goal to keep them ahead, the Tigers were hungry for more. Only 16 minutes later in the 29th minute of the half, Werner revived a leading ball from forward Madysin Barganski (Corpus Christi, Texas / Flour Bluff). Werner carried the ball across the 18-yard box to find the feet of forward Hanna Khan (Southlake, Texas / Carroll). Khan took a singular touch then launched the ball low and hard, deep into the far side netting of the goal. Not only was this Khan's 6th goal of the season, but also her 3rd goal in this tournament alone, making Khan a standout player to watch as teams head into the NCAA Tournament. 

Heading into the second half, the Tigers were determined to create an even larger gap in goals. As everyone knows, a 2-goal lead is the most dangerous to have, and the Tigers were focused on not falling into that trap. Only 6 minutes into the second half, Khan found herself on the attack down the line, putting herself in a perfect crossing opportunity. Khan played an on the ground pass straight to Werner, who was running into the 6-yard box. With a simple one touch tap, Werner placed the ball straight past the keeper into the back of the net. No matter how hard the Lynx tried, they could not stop the connection between Werner and Khan. The Tigers were now up 3-0. The Tigers defense continued to shut down any glimpse of hope the Lynx had, with each player playing a top tier match. It was the perfect game to give the Tigers confidence as they head into the Round of 64 of the NCAA Tournament. 
 
Three Tiger players also received All Tournament Team Honors: Werner, Ilsa Newland (St. Louis, M. / Kirkwood), and Khan. Khan also received MVP of the tournament, ending the weekend with 3 goals and 1 assist. 

Up Next
The Tigers will be finding out who they will be facing off against and where that will be this coming Monday, Nov. 9th.