CANYON, TEXAS – Riding the momentum of a three-game winning streak, Lions soccer (11-5-0 overall, 5-3-0 in conference) will look for the win against West Texas A&M (6-10-0 overall, 2-6 in conference) in their gambit to win the Lone Star Conference regular season title.
 
In their previous matchup in Commerce, the Lions outshot the Lady Buffs 30-11 and controlled the pace for the vast majority of the game, but were unable to capitalize on their myriad scoring chances. Late in the contest, the Lions committed a foul inside their own box late in the game, resulting in a penalty kick for senior defender Rhea Belgrave, which she hammered home, sealing the upset. Coach Neil Piper's squad will be thinking revenge when they suit up in Canyon, but the scope of the game may overshadow those sentiments.
 
The game at West Texas, while important, will be just one piece of the Lone Star Conference puzzle, as all six teams will be active on Friday. To the west, the Eastern New Mexico Zias will host the Texas Woman's Pioneers, and to the south, the Angelo State Rambelles will host the Midwestern State Mustangs. The results of all three contests carry significant ramifications for the Lions, but the one thing that is certain is if A&M-Commerce can win its game against WT, they'll be in a position to win the conference with a win against ENMU on Sunday.
 
West Texas A&M, who currently sit deep in last place in the conference, can shockingly still make it into the top four and into the LSC tournament, but they'll need a lot of help. In addition to needing to win their remaining two games against A&M-Commerce and Texas Woman's, they'll also need Angelo State to defeat Midwestern State on Friday, as well as needing ENMU to defeat or tie the visiting Texas Woman's Pioneers. The Zias and Pioneers begin their game four hours before the Lions and Lady Buffs square off, so it's entirely possibly WT will be mathematically eliminated before they even take the field.
 
In addition to Belgrave (3G), the hero for WT in the previous game against the Lions, the Lady Buffs have relied on junior midfielder Emily Krenek (6G) and senior midfielder Jessie Thomas (4G, 1A) for the bulk of their offensive production. On Friday however, it's still unclear which keeper they'll be tasked with trying to beat. Junior Courtnie Northern has played a stellar 2014 season, amassing 89 saves through 15 games for a conference-leading save percentage of .890. However, she was granted a rest in the Lions previous game against Southern Nazarene in which sophomore Callie Ballard, the team's former starter from last season, drew the start. Ballard provided reliable protection and earned a shutout on three saves. Which direction the Lions' coaching staff elects to go remains to be seen.
 
On the other side of the field, the Lions will look upon the services of their two offensive dynamos, forwards Savannah Henderson (12G, 4A) and Jade Bell (7G, 7A). Henderson leads the conference in three offensive categories, having 28 points, 12 goals, and 79 shots, while Bell holds the conference lead in assists with seven. In conjunction with them, the Lions have found timely scoring from several other sources, with five game-winning goals coming from five other Lions, including most recently Cadie Annett, who netted the winner against Southern Nazarene last Monday. They'll be tasked with trying to crack sophomore keeper Nicole Kemper, who took over the starting job for the Lady Buffs in late September. Kemper's first game was her shutout against the Lions, but since then, she's given up 11 goals in seven games.
 
The Halloween matchup is set for Friday, October 31 at 7 p.m. After that, the Lions will travel to Portales, New Mexico for their final game of the regular season, a noon showdown against the ENMU Zias on Sunday, November 2.