COMMERCE, TEXAS – After opening the season 4-2-0 against some tough opponents, the Lions will travel to Arkadelphia, Arkansas on Sunday to face the struggling Ouachita Baptist Tigers (1-4-1).
 
OBU's 2014 slump comes as somewhat of a surprise following a 2013 campaign in which they went 11-6-1 and finished second in the Great American Conference with a 6-3-1 GAC record. However, of the seventeen Tigers in 2013 who logged ten or more games of action, only eight return, making Ouachita Baptist something of a rebuilding project.
 
Among those returning for the Tigers is accomplished junior forward Haley Hatcher. In 2013, Hatcher led all Tigers in every single offensive category, compiling a 41-point season (19G, 3A) with five game-winning goals on 104 shots, 53 of which were on target. In 2014, despite the team's rough start, she's back at it, scoring 11 points (4G, 3A) on 14 shots on goal. Sunday will mark the first time in 2014 that A&M-Commerce will be facing a scorer with more points on the season than top Lions' forward Savannah Henderson (4G, 1A).
 
In goal, the Tigers have consistently gone with freshman Emily Keith, who's started five of the OBU's six games. Opponents have taken 49 shots on goal, 35 of which Keith has saved for a save percentage of 0.714 and a GAA of 3.5. In that department, A&M-Commerce has had the superior option. Junior keeper Courtnie Northern has earned two shutouts by saving 39 of 44 shots on goal. That's good enough for a 0.886 save percentage, with a GAA of 0.81.
 
Both the Lions and Tigers will be looking to bounce back from losses earlier in the weekend. For the Lions, they will try and move on from a 1-0 home-loss to the No. 18 ranked team in the nation, St. Edward's. The Tigers on the other hand seek to move forward from a 6-0 drubbing on the road against Texas Woman's.
 
"We have to score goals on the opportunities we create," said Lions' coach Neil Piper following Friday's defeat against St. Edward's, "If we can do that, if we can play our game, we can beat anybody. We'll just have to be ready on Sunday."
 
The game is scheduled for Sunday, September 21 at 2:00 p.m. After that, the Lions will come home for a nice, long rest before beginning conference play against the visiting Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds on Friday, September 26 at 7:00 p.m.