COMMERCE– The Texas A&M University-Commerce soccer team will play its final two matches of the regular season this weekend. The Lions travel to Odessa on Friday to face UT Permian Basin and then play the Lone Star Conference-leader Angelo State on Sunday.
 
UT Permian Basin
WHO: Texas A&M-Commerce (10-3-3, 6-3-1 LSC) vs. UT Permian Basin (1-13-1, 1-9-0 LSC)
WHERE: UTPB Soccer Field in Odessa, Texas
WHEN: Friday, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m.
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
 
Angelo State
WHO: Texas A&M-Commerce vs. Angelo State (11-2-1, 8-1-1 LSC)
WHERE: ASU Soccer Field in San Angelo, Texas
WHEN: Sunday, Oct. 29 at 1 p.m.
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
LIVE VIDEO: angelosports.com/watch/?Live=960&type=Live
 
The Lions are coming off an undefeated weekend, defeating West Texas A&M 3-1 on Friday and Eastern New Mexico 2-1 on Sunday. A&M-Commerce finished the season with a 9-1-0 record at home, their best record since the 2008 season, when the team achieved the same record. Head coach Neil Piper was pleased with his team's performance at home, but would have liked to see his team perform better on the road.
 
"It goes so fast," Piper said of the home season. "9-1 is impressive. We just need to improve our road record."
 
For the second consecutive week, the Lions are ranked sixth in the South Central Region. Before the season started, Piper was unsure how his team would fare with so many new pieces and especially so many freshman who would need to play a high volume of minutes. Now that he saw how his team could play over a season, he knows the results could have been better. However, he is pleased his team is in playoff contention.
 
"I guess I would take it, not knowing then," Piper said when asked if he would take sixth in the region before the season started. "Now, I'm a little disappointed. But we still have room to improve."
 
The Lions can still improve their conference and regional standings with two more matches on the regular season schedule. A&M-Commerce is currently tied for second place in the LSC with Midwestern State, who holds the tiebreaker over the Lions due to a head-to-head sweep this season. Should the Lions win both of their matches, they would need MSU to either tie or lose to take second place.
 
To cloud things even more, if Angelo State loses both of its matches, including the final match against A&M-Commerce, and the Lions win both their contests, the Lions would win at least a share of the Lone Star Conference championship, regardless of how MSU fares. Then again, should the Lions falter, it is possible for them to finish as low as fourth overall. Piper knows his team can only take care of its own business and let the rest of the chips fall.
 
"As long as I've been here, it is probably as tight as the conference has been, from one to six," he said. "Honestly, anything could happen this weekend. I think if we get two wins, we could finish first, second or third. It is hard to predict what will happen."
 
The top two finishers in the LSC receive a first round bye in the conference tournament. In a procedure change this season, the third and fourth seeds will host home matches against the fifth and sixth seeds respectively, so there is still a possibility of another match at the Lion Soccer Field, even if A&M-Commerce does not win a conference championship. While he loves home matches, Piper is hoping his team won't have to host a first round match, both because of the advantages of having a bye and for strength of schedule in the regional rankings.
 
"I've looked at all the possibilities," he said. "Finishing third would not be good. For one, the extra game, just for strength of schedule, it would not be good. To finish second at the end of the weekend, we would be in good shape. All we can do is play and win and let everything else fall."