SHREVEPORT, La. -- Texas Lutheran went toe-to-toe Sunday with 11th-ranked Trinity in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Women's Soccer Championship final before falling 1-0 to the Tigers at Centenary College's Mayo Field.

After a scoreless 72 minutes of action, Trinity's Meredith Licata netted the match-winner at the 72:40 mark.

Licata knocked home the shot after teammate Tierney Thomison's shot was saved by the Bulldogs' Mikaela Gilbert, who made the initial save on the right post. The rebound came to the front of the goal, where Licata cleaned up the loose ball.

Trinity advances to the 2017 NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship. The SCAC champions receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA post-season.

Trinity improved to 18-1 overall. TLU's year is finished with an overall record of 8-9-2.

In their fifth season as a member of the SCAC, TLU finished as the conference runner-up for the third time. The Bulldogs also finished as the runner-up to Trinity in 2014 and 2015.

TLU keepers Stephanie Barrientos and Gilbert combined for 10 saves against the Tigers.

Trinity's defense allowed just one TLU shot. The Tigers led 22-1 in total shots and 11-0 in shots on goal.

The Bulldogs, featuring 15 first-year players and six sophomores, improved each time they faced the Tigers in 2017. In the first meeting, back on Sept. 22 in Seguin, Trinity defeated the Bulldogs 13-0. In the second matchup, in San Antonio on Oct. 13, the Tigers notched a 5-0 victory.

TLU will graduate just one player - senior midfielder Selena Wicklund - and could return as many as 25 players for the 2018 season.

The Bulldogs went 2-1 in the SCAC Tournament as the No. 3 seed. TLU opened the tournament Friday with 3-0 win over Austin College, the No. 6 seed. TLU then upset No. 2 seed Schreiner 1-0 on Saturday. Schreiner had a 2-1 win and a 1-0 victory over TLU during the regular season.