WICHITA FALLS– The Texas A&M University-Commerce soccer team defeated Midwestern State 1-0 on Thursday afternoon. The Lions scored their goal in the final seconds of the first half to pick up the shutout win.
 
The win brings the Lions to 10-6-1 on the season and 7-5-0 in the Lone Star Conference. With the win, the Lions now have 21 points in LSC play, clinching a berth into next week's LSC postseason tournament. The Mustangs fall to 4-12-1 and 3-9-0 in conference play.
 
The Lions close the regular season with a road match against Oklahoma Christian on Saturday. The match will begin at 3:30 p.m. at the Eagle Soccer Field in Oklahoma City.
 
HEAD COACH NEIL PIPER AFTER THE MATCH
- On the win: "This is a very good win for us. Wichita Falls is always a tough place to play."
- On the game's strategy: "We used a lot of players and put people in different positions to have a different look."
- On the game's lone goal: "Katie Givens scored a great header right before half time and it changed the game. The cross from Cora Welch was perfect."
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Katie Given (Rockwall) scored her first goal of the season in the waning seconds of the first half. She scored on a header goal off of a free kick assist from Cora Welch (Plano Senior).
- Leslie Campuzano (Garland – Lakeview Centennial) had six shots on goal in the match, while Kaci Montoya (Fairfield, Calif.) had a pair of shots on goal.
- The Lions had 12 shots on goal in the match, off of 19 shots.
- Jen Peters (Allen) made six saves in the match, earning her ninth shutout of the season. She becomes only the fourth goalkeeper in A&M-Commerce history to reach at least nine shutouts in a single season.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Peters made an early save as the Mustangs looked to draw first blood. The Lions countered with a pair of shots on goal, one from Campuzano and one from Montoya. However, both were saved to keep the match scoreless.
 
The Lions continued to attack, as Kara Blasingame (Oswego, Ill.) had a shot saved in the 24th minute and Campuzano had another saved in the 33rd minute. MSU then had a trio of shots on goal, with Peters saving each one.
 
The Lions capitalized late in the first half, as a long free kick from near the sideline by Welch was blasted toward the goal. The ball found the head of Givens, who directed the ball into the net with six seconds remaining to send the Lions into halftime with a 1-0 lead.
 
The Lions continued to apply pressure in the early parts of the second half, with two early onside penalties and several blocked shots. Campuzano and Montoya also had shots that were saved by the MSU keeper.
 
The Lions held the MSU attack at bay for the remainder of the match, allowing only two shots on goal in the final period, both of which were saved by Peters.