COMMERCE, TEXAS – The Lions soccer team (9-5-0 overall, 4-3 in conference) sent their seniors off in style for Senior Day, knocking off the No. 19 Angelo State University Rambelles and climbing into a tie with Eastern New Mexico for the lead in the LSC standings.
 
On a day meant to honor the Lions' veterans for their final regular season home game of their careers, defenders Allie Burks and Sydney Lawthers, as well as twin midfielders Cadie Annett and Callie Annett were acknowledged in the pre-game ceremony to thank them for their years of service.
 
"It's bittersweet knowing this was my last game, it was kind of sad," said Cadie Annett, who had three shots for the Lions on the day, "We (my sister and I) always have a hand shake we do before games, and we were about to do it, and (Callie) said 'This is the last one at home,' and that was very depressing. It almost made me want to cry. But I'm glad we won, I liked that."
 
The first half saw both teams clamp down, and play the vast majority of the action in the center field. Both goalies combined for only four saves, without any high-quality chances.
 The second half opened up significantly, as action went back and forth in a more free-flowing manner. Midway through the half, the gridlock was finally broken when Jade Bell found Savannah Henderson open to the side of the box. Henderson popped the ball up about seven feet to progress past her defender before firing one past keeper Shantel Wittke to the far side of the net (69') for her 11th goal of the season. Henderson now reclaims a share of the LSC-lead for total points scored at 26, and the outright lead in goals scored at 11.
 
The rest of the game made saw a more frantic pace from both teams, and the action went down to the final seconds of the game, as the Lions had to really work to stave off the Rambelles.
 
"I think the environment at the end of the game was really intense," said Lawthers. "Even though we were up, we were fighting to hold the lead, and they were really relentless. Even when the clock was down to the last minute, it was still really scary."
 
Keeper Courtnie Northern bounced back from a tough game on Friday against Midwestern State to come up big again for the Lions, making seven saves on the day, notching her fifth shutout of the season. The reigning LSC Defensive Player of the Week has now stopped 87 shots through 14 games, and sports a .888 save percentage to go with her conference-leading average of 6.21 saves per game.
 
Despite starting their season without losing for 11 straight games, ASU now finds itself on a 3-game losing streak, and likely to fall out of the national Top-25 rankings. The Rambelles are now 1-3 on the road. Fortunately for them, they get to play their next game at home, where they are 7-0-1 on the season.
 
Sunday's action, which saw four LSC teams active, saw yet another shift in the standings. With the win, the Lions move up to a first-place tie with the ENMU Zias, while the loss sends Angelo State down to a tie for third with Texas Woman's, who knocked off Midwestern State at home 1-0 today.
 
The Lions will say goodbye to Commerce for the remainder of the regular season, as they will finish their final four games on the road. Next up, a trip to Denton lies on the docket for Friday, October 24 at 7 p.m. There, they will play the Texas Woman's University Pioneers (9-5-1).