SAN ANGELO– The Texas A&M University-Commerce soccer team fell 2-0 to West Texas A&M in the semifinal round of the Lone Star Conference Tournament on Friday. The Lions gave up two goals early in the second half and could not recover.
 
The Lions fall to 12-4-3 on the season and are eliminated from the LSC Tournament. WT improves to 9-6-5 and advances to the championship round.
 
The Lions still have an outside chance of continuing their season. They were ranked seventh in the South Central Region headed into the weekend. The top six teams in the regional rankings will advance to the regional tournament, which starts next Friday. The NCAA Tournament field is announced at 5 p.m. Central Monday.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- It was only the third match all season where A&M-Commerce was held scoreless.
- The Lions had eight shots and four shots on goal. Sophie Haywood, Leslie Campuzano, Kara Blasingame and Sabrina Munguia all had shots on goal in the match.
- Caitlin Duty made six saves as WT had 11 shots, eight of which were on goal.
- WT scored two goals in the second half. The first came in the 46th minute by Hannah Kelley. The second came in the 58th minute from Khadidra Debesette.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lady Buffs had the first shot on goal in the eighth minute. The ball was saved by Duty. The Lions then went on the offensive. Haywood found room in the 13th minute for a shot but it was saved to keep the match scoreless.
 
Toward the middle of the first half, the Lion defense clamped down, not allowing a single shot from WT for more than 20 minutes. The Lions had multiple shots but could not get a shot to go on goal.
 
The Lady Buff offense woke up late in the first half as both teams made multiple substitutions. Duty made a save in the 41st minute and had two more saves in the 43rd minute. A WT forward had a chance but Duty was there to make a diving save to keep the match scoreless heading into halftime.
 
The Lady Buffs wasted no time breaking the scoreless tie, scoring in the first 42 seconds of the second half. Kelley raced past the defense and got a shot just over the hands of Duty to score, giving WT a 1-0 lead. Duty made another save in the 48th minute.
 
WT scored again in the 58th minute. After a goal kick was taken, it was headed by WT and then Debesette sprinted with the ball down the middle. Sidestepping a Lion defender, she shot the ball into the right side of the goal to give WT a 2-0 lead.
 
Blasingame had a shot on goal in the 64th and Campuzano had a shot on goal in the 65th minute as the Lions looked to get back into the match. However, the WT keeper saved both shots.
 
Duty made another save in the 71st minute as a ball was fired on a free kick right toward the goal. The Lion offense continued to try and find space but was stifled by the WT defense and could not find another opportunity to get a shot on goal, falling 2-0.