COMMERCE, TEXAS – The LSC tournament is set to get underway this Friday at Lion Soccer Field, and A&M-Commerce soccer (13-5 overall, 7-3 in conference) looks to set the tone with a win against the No. 4 seeded MSU Mustangs (8-5-5 overall, 3-5-2 in conference).
After dropping their final game of the season against the No. 20 ranked Angelo State Rambelles 1-0 at home, Midwestern State's tournament berth came down to the last day of the season, receiving the necessary boost from Texas Woman's, who dropped both games of their final weekend to open the door for MSU. Now, the Mustangs come to Commerce for a rubber match against the Lions, having split the season-series against the Lions with both teams picking up 2-1 wins on the road against the other.
The last time these teams played was the sole loss for the Lions over the span of their last eight games. Midwestern State came to Commerce and took advantage of a poor showing by Lions keeper
Courtnie Northern, scoring on two of their three total shots on goal in the game, both off the foot of junior
Callie Briseno. Since then, Northern, the reigning LSC Defensive Player of the Week, has been an impenetrable wall in goal. All three of her starts since that game have resulted in shutouts, and her active shutout-streak currently sits at 300 minutes, 48 seconds. The Mustangs offense, which includes the likes of
Destinee Williamson (8G, 4A) and
Katy Catney (2G, 5A), will be tasked with trying to find a crack in Northern's game if they hope to advance.
On the other end of the field, reigning LSC Offensive Player of the Week
Jade Bell (9G, 7A) has been red-hot, having scored goals in four straight games, including the conference-winning goal against Eastern New Mexico last Sunday. Along with fellow forward
Savannah Henderson (12G, 6A), who finished the season as the LSC-conference leader in points, goals and shots, the Lions will look to find a way past breakout freshman
Courtney Burnette, who closed out the regular season with six shutouts, 101 saves, and a save percentage of .871. Despite the loss to Midwestern State earlier in the year, Bell and Henderson hooked up to score the lone goal for the Lions on the day, as Bell cleaned up a rebound from Burnette following a shot from Henderson.
The Lions and Mustangs have gone at it since the beginning, and have racked up 31 games against one another since 1996. The Mustangs hold the overall advantage, having compiled a 17-10-4 record against the Lions over that span.
The Lions, who host this weekend's tournament action, are slated to take on MSU on Friday, November 7 at 7:30 p.m. in the second match of the tournament. Before that, the No. 2 seeded Angelo State Rambelles will take on the No. 3 seeded Eastern New Mexico Zias at Lion Soccer Field at 5:00 p.m. The winners of each game advance to Sunday's championship game, where a tournament champion will be crowned. That game will be scheduled for Sunday, November 9 at 1:00 p.m. Tickets for all the games will cost $5 for fans 13 and over. For children 12 and under, as well as current students of the participating schools with valid student-IDs, admission is free of charge.
