The East Central University soccer team is headed to the 2014 Great American Conference tournament for the fourth-straight season, this time at the No. 4 seed.  The Tigers will face No. 1 and host Southern Nazarene, Friday, Nov. 7 at 2 p.m. at Wes Harmon Field at the Wanda Rhodes Soccer Complex.

Game Notes
Photo Gallery from Awards Banquet

The Coverage
Fans who can't be at the match can find links to live stats and live video (if available) on ECUTigers.com.  Go to the soccer schedule page.  

High GAC Honors
The Tigers were well represented on the 2014 All-GAC teams, announced at the annual banquet Nov. 6.  ECU saw seniors Katie Glutz and Margaret Glutz both earn All-GAC First Team honors and senior Milan Galloway earned second team accolades.  Margaret Glutz was also selected as the GAC Defender of the Year.

Katie Glutz's naming to the first team was a unanimous decision and marked the third time she made the first team and fourth time she was honored.  The player of the year award was also the second for sister Margaret Glutz, who was named GAC Freshman of the Year in 2011.

The Glutz's sisters also made GAC history with their selections to the All-GAC teams.  Margaret Glutz became the first and only GAC student-athlete to be named to the All-GAC First Team for four-straight seasons, while the duo of Katie and Margaret are the only two players to earn All-GAC honors for all four seasons.

Scouting Southern Nazarene
The Crimson Storm finished the 2014 regular-season with a 10-8 overall record and an 8-2 mark in the GAC to claim the regular-season title.

Despite the large difference in games won in the league, SNU has tallied just two more goals than its opponents this season (33-31) and has taken just 35 more shots on goal (138-103).  The Crimson Storm seem to be a first half team, recording 176 of their shots in the first half and just 66 in the second.

SNU has six players with multiple goal tallies this season, with Mallary Pineda and Hannah Robinson leading the team.  Pineda has garnered nine goals and adds seven assists for 25 points.  Robinson has sent in six goals, with one assist.  Natasha Fuentes has seen all the action in net, with 31 goals against and 70 saves for a 1.71 goals against average and a .693 save percentage.

Against the Crimson Storm
This year each team won a match in the series, with each earning the win on the road.  The Tigers claimed the first victory 2-1 in overtime and then fell 0-2 at home.

Senior Kourtney Holleman scored both of the goals for ECU against the Crimson Storm, while tallying three shots on goal.  Seniors Katie Glutz and Milan Galloway assisted on the goals for the Tigers.  Junior Taylor Lowe saw action in the net in both matches, allowing three goals and stopping 11 shots.

Hannah Robinson tallied two of the goals for SNU, while sending five shots on goal.  Taylor Jester also scored for the Crimson Storm, with Alyssa Glitzke and Mallary Pineda each earning assists.  Natasha Fuentes allowed two goals and earned eight saves.

The Series
The Tigers currently trail 3-6 in the all-time series, including a 2-4 mark while playing as GAC opponents.  The series is also a 1-4 in favor of SNU when playing on the road.  This will be the first meeting between the teams during the post-season.

Scouting Harding
The Bison are 6-11-1, 6-3-1 in the GAC standings after the regular season.

Harding trails in most statistical categories, but is closer than their record would make you think.  The Bison only trail 24-30 in goals scored and have taken just 30 fewer shots on goal (107-137).  However, Harding does have a 81-78 lead in corners taken.

Audrey Adkison and Adair Schmidt lead the Bison on offense.  Adkison has tallied seven goals and adds eight assists.  Adkison is an accurate shooter, having taken just 12 shots on goal and scoring seven goals.  Schmidt adds five goals and an assist.

Kaitlyn Miller has seen most of the time in net for Harding, playing in 15 matches.  She has allowed 23 goals and stopped 80 shots, with three shutouts to her credit.  Miller has a 1.51 goals against average and .777 saves percentage.

Against the Bison
This season, the Tigers suffered a 0-3 loss to Harding on the road and a 0-1 overtime loss at home.

Senior Taylor Graves has tallied seven shots, with one finding the goal during the series, while senior Katie Glutz leads the team with two shots on goal. Junior Taylor Lowe allowed four goals and stopped 10 shots.

Adair Schmidt tallied a match-winning goal for the Bison, with Katelyn Tschiggfrie, Ellie Burtram and Averie Albright each adding a goal.  Kaitlyn Miller has been perfect in goal, allowing zero goals on nine shots and recording two shutouts.

The Series
Despite losing the last three matches, the Tigers hold an 8-4 advantage in the all-time series.  If the teams meet it would be the second meeting during a GAC Championship, but the first on a neutral field.  ECU defeated Harding 6-0 Nov. 4, 2011 in the tournament, but it was played on Tiger Field.

Scouting Ouachita Baptist
The other Tigers in the GAC are 6-11-1 overall and 5-5 in the conference after the regular season.

OBU trails its opponents in all the statistical categories, including a 30-55 difference in goals scores and a 108-205 lag in shots on goal.

OBU has spread out its goals and assists between seven players, but 2014 GAC Player of the Year Haley Hatcher is the clear offensive threat. Hatcher has 17 goals and three assists for 37 points and 50 shots on goal.

OBU has used five different goalkeepers this season. Lauren Llanas has been in the net for the last nine outings, allowing 22 goals and stopping 71 shots for a 2.43 goals against average and .763 saves percentage.

Against the Tigers
Last week the teams meet each other twice in three days, with each team earning a 2-1 win on their home field.

ECU saw two goals on Senior Day at home from senior Katie Glutz to earn the win, while OBU saw two goals in its home-field win from Hayley Hatcher.

The Series
After splitting two games in the course of three days last week, the series with OBU is tied at four-all when playing as GAC members and 7-6 in favor of ECU overall.  OBU won the lone match that has been played on a neutral field during the GAC Tournament in 2012 (1-2).

Pickrell and Lowe Honored
Two ECU soccer players were honored by the GAC as players of the week for Oct. 21.  Junior Kelsey Pickrell was named the GAC Defender of the Week, while junior Taylor Lowe earned her second Goalkeeper of the Week honor for the season.

Pickrell led a pair of strong defensive efforts that helped the Tigers move from outside the top four in the GAC into third place with wins versus Northwestern and Southwestern. She helped limit the Rangers to only five shots on goal. Against SWOSU, she matched up with Cori Kelly and did not allow her to get off a shot over the final 61 minutes.

Lowe earned a pair of victories as she posted a 0.96 goals-against average against NWOSU and SWOSU. She recorded four saves in the victory against the Rangers and three in the overtime win against the Bulldogs.

Double Standard
Senior Milan Galloway has set a high standard for herself, with a team leading six goals.  What makes the numbers more interesting is that she has scored in just three games, with two goals scored in each outing.

Senior Kourtney Holleman also added her name to the list when she tallied both goals in the 2-1 overtime win at Southern Nazarene.

Senior Katie Glutz added her name to the list in the final home match of the season, with the two goals in the 2-1 win over Ouachita Baptist on Senior Day.

Lowe Goalkeeper of the Week
ECU junior Taylor Lowe picked up her first and the team's second GAC honor of the season, as she was named the GAC Goalkeeper of the Week for Sept. 23.

Lowe recorded 11 saves in posting a 1-1 record, with a 2.00 goals-against average, for the Tigers.  She tallied five saves against Northeastern State and came back with six in a 4-2 win against Lubbock Christian.  At 3-3-1, ECU posted its third-best start in school history.

Glutz Defender of the Week
Senior Margaret Glutz was named the GAC Defender of the Week for Sept. 16 after helping the Tigers to a 2-0-1 mark.

The Santee, Calif., native anchored a Tiger defense that allowed only four goals in three matches last week. Against Newman, she helped a defense that blocked a pair of shots and added an assist on the first goal. Against Oklahoma Baptist, she paced ECU to their first shutout win of the season, while the defense blocked a total of four shots.