HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - The University of Montevallo earned its third Gulf South Conference championship Sunday afternoon with a 3-0 victory over the University of Alabama-Huntsville in the title match of the 2026 Gulf South Conference Women's Soccer Championship at the Loretta P. Spencer Sports Complex.

BOX SCORE | CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL

Montevallo (17-2-1), which was making its fourth straight appearance in the title match and has won 10 straight matches, now receives the GSC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Tournament. The selection show for the tournament will air at 6 p.m. on Monday at NCAA.com.

Neither team was able to find the back of the net in the opening 45 minutes, though most of the match was spent in Montevallo's offense third of the pitch. Montevallo outshot UAH, 10-1, including 3-1 in shots on goal, and had two corner kicks to the Chargers' none. UAH (9-8-1) was whistled for four fouls in the first half, while Montevallo had three and there were no yellow cards handed out. Karsyn Ross had the Falcons' first shot on goal at 12:19, sending a shot towards the lower right corner of the net and forcing Charger goalie CeCe Szopa to make a save to keep the match scoreless. Meanwhile, UAH's lone shot on goal came at 33:30, when Edie Stickell struck a shot at the lower right corner of the goal, but Falcon goalie Jolie Cazale was there for the Falcons to make the save.

Montevallo struck first just after halftime when Elise Marquardt took the ball down the right wing and sent a cross into the penalty area, where it deflected off a UAH defender and into the net for an own goal to give the Falcons a 1-0 lead at 47:11. Montevallo continued to press and earned a corner kick less than two minutes later, but the Chargers were able to successfully defend it, keeping the score 1-0 Falcons.

UAH's best chance to tie the match came in the 70th minute when Carley White sent a shot towards the top right corner of the goal, but Cazale was able to knock it away, preserving Montevallo's one-goal lead.

About seven minutes after UAH's near miss, at 76:17, Montevallo added an insurance goal when First Team All-Conference pick Ayla Ertekin took advantage of an errant backpass by the Chargers, stealing the ball and putting a shot in the lower left corner of the net for her 13th goal of the year, making it 2-0 Falcons. Montevallo got its final goal at 84:26, when the Falcons earned a corner kick and after the ball pinballed around the penalty area, it landed at the feet of Second Team All-GSC selection Isbael Dillehay, who put it in for her sixth goal of the season. 

The 14 goals scored in the tournament for the Falcons ties the record for most goals scored in a GSC Tournament, set by Montevallo in 2024. Also, the Falcons' three shutouts ties the GSC record for most shutouts in a single tournament and marks the 11th time in the last 30 GSC Tournaments that the champion has won all of their tournament matches by shutout. Cazale finished with three saves to earn the victory in goal for the Falcons.

Montevallo outshot UAH, 23-9, for the match, including 10-3 in shots on goal. The Falcons had seven corner kicks to the Chargers' three and both teams had eight fouls.

The Falcons' Madysen Legere was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, and was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Cazale, Dillehay and Ross. It was Dillehay's third-consecutive GSC All-Tournamen Team selection.

For UAH (9-8-1), the loss snapped a four-match winning streak that included going 5-1 in its last six outings. The Chargers - who entered the GSC Tournament as the No. 6 seed before knocking off third-seeded Union and second-seeded Lee to advance to Sunday's title match - were making their first-ever appearance in the conference tournament final. Szopa had seven saves for the Chargers and set a new record for most saves in a single tournament with 23, breaking the old record of 21.

2026 GSC Women's Soccer All-Tournament Team
Madysen Legere, Montevallo (MOP)
Jolie Cazale, Montevallo
Isabel Dillehay, Montevallo
Karsyn Ross, Montevallo
Prescott Hull, UAH
Claire Ward, UAH
Prescott Hull, UAH
Caroline Chandler, Delta State
Ava Morin, Delta State
Aubrey Benfield, Lee
Isabella Valentie, Lee