COMMERCE, Texas -- Fresh off earning its first postseason win in five years, the University of the Incarnate Word women's soccer team looks to keep things rolling against the No. 1 seed at the Southland Conference Tournament.

The fourth-seeded Cardinals, who crushed No. 5 Nicholls in the quarterfinals Tuesday, move onto the semifinals where regular season SLC champion Lamar awaits. The two Cardinal squads will square off at 3:30 p.m. at Lion Soccer Field in Commerce, Texas.

The match will be streamed on ESPN-Plus.

LAST TIME OUT: UIW 4, NICHOLLS 0

After being held scoreless for the final 293 minutes, 10 seconds of the regular season, the Cardinal offense got its mojo back in a big way, out-shooting the Colonels 11-3 in the first half and taking an early lead on a Zaiba Ishaque goal.

Things only got better in the second half, with Louise Coates scoring in the 50th minute before Julia Watson converted a spectacular, cross-field goal less than nine minutes later. For her efforts, Watson made the SportsCenter Top-10 Plays for Oct. 10.

Morgan Heintz then put a cap on the win with a goal in the 84th minute.

Goalie Hannah Alexander, who was also credited with an assist on Coates' goal, did her part as well, making seven saves to lead the defense to an eighth shutout of the season.

This marked the first time UIW won an SLC Tournament game since a 1-0 semifinal victory over McNeese on No. 5, 2021.

ABOUT THE (OTHER) CARDINALS

Lamar, which went 10-2-5 on the regular season with a conference-best 7-1-2 mark, has one of the best defenses in the country. The Cardinals have allowed just 11 goals, 12 less than any other team in the Southland and the 17th-fewest amongst Division I programs. 

Senior goalie Keelye Thomas ranks seventh in the nation with a .423 goals-against average.

The unit is aided by an offense sporting the conference's top scorer in Marissa Gross, who has an SLC-best 11 goals and 23 points.

Lamar is looking to capture its fifth conference title in the last decade. Its most recent triumphs came with back-to-back championships in 2022 and 2023.

PREVIOUS MATCHUP/MATCHUP HISTORY

The teams played a tight game in Beaumont on Oct. 15, but a Gross goal 3:55 into the game was the only scoring of a 1-0 Lamar win.

UIW had a pair of wide-open looks near the net in the second half, but both sailed wide. Incarnate Word entered the night in first place in the Southland standings, but were leapfrogged by Lamar, which held the conference lead the rest of the season,

UIW has never beaten Lamar, putting up a record of 0-8-6. The San Antonio-based Cardinals have scored one goal or less in 12 of those 14 matchups.

Thursday will mark the first time the two have played in the conference tournament.

SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE/RESULTS

Tuesday, Nov. 10
Match one: No. 4 UIW 4, No. 5 McNeese 0
Match two: No. 3 Northwestern State 1, McNeese 0
Match three: No. 2 Houston Christian 1, No. 7 East Texas A&M 1 (HCU won 5-4 in penalty kicks)

Thursday, Nov. 12
Match four: No. 4 UIW vs. No. 1 Lamar, 3:30 p.m.
Match five: No. 3 Northwestern State vs. No. 2 Houston Christian, 7 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 15
Southland Conference Championship: Match four winner vs. match five winner, 1 p.m.