SEGUIN, Texas -- In the first of a pair of two crucial SCAC games to close the regular season, Texas Lutheran defeated McMurry, 2-1, at Gustafson Field to secure their playoff berth and eliminate the War Hawks from SCAC Tournament contention on Friday.

McMurry struck first with a goal in the eighth minute to take an early lead over the Bulldogs. TLU (11-5-1, 7-2 SCAC) got on the board in the 34th minute as freshman Alyssa Ibanez (San Antonio/Judson) found her fellow freshman Emma Alvarado (Buda/Johnson) for her second goal of the season to bring the game to 1-all.

Third time's the charm for the Bulldogs in the second half as senior Alyssa Simien (San Antonio/Warren) buried the Bulldogs third shot of the half in the back of the net for the go-ahead goal after being set up by Callie Brame (San Antonio/Churchill), her seventh assist of the season. The game-winner was Simien's 14th of her career, tying TLU Hall of Famer Kelli Layden (2005-08) for second all-time.

Alysa Marquez (Miami, FL/Dr. Michael Krop) made two saves in her 11th win of the season.

Texas Lutheran outshot the War Hawks 22-7 on the night and held an 8-6 advantage in corner kicks.

Up next, Texas Lutheran will face Concordia (TX) in the regular season finale on Sun. Nov. 3 at 2 PM at Gustafson Field as they continue to fight for seeding in the SCAC Tournament. The match will be streamed on TLU+. All streaming and live stats links can be found on tlubulldogs.com.

For all updates on Texas Lutheran Women's Soccer, follow @tluwsoc on Twitter and Instagram and as always you can find updates on all Texas Lutheran athletics on tlubulldogs.com and all official TLU social media channels (@tluathletics on Twitter, @tlu_athletics on Instagram, and @tlubulldogs on Facebook).