WICHITA FALLS – Three soft touch goals from close range propelled the Texas A&M University-Commerce soccer team to a 3-2 win over the Midwestern State Mustangs in the quarterfinal round of the Lone Star Conference Championship on Tuesday night at Stang Park.
The Lions advance to the LSC Championship Semifinal on Friday night against No. 6 Angelo State, who defeated No. 3 Texas Woman's, 1-0, in Denton on a goal in the 87
th minute. The match will be hosted by DBU at Patriot Soccer Field at 7:30 p.m. The LSC Championship is scheduled for Sunday afternoon, also hosted by DBU.
"Tonight was a great team effort, we had great energy all night," said coach
Neil Piper. "We did well responding each time we fell behind."
"We dominated the second half and deserved the win."
Midwestern State started the game with the lead in the seventh minute. A long pass went into the box and Lexi Beck was able to work past a defender and shot it in the bottom right corner.
Less than eight minutes later,
Leslie Campuzano (Garland – Lakeview Centennial) had a shot that bounced off the crossbar as well as Mustangs' goalkeeper Lauren Freeman.
Melissa Storey (Tyne and Wear, England) was near the goal and kicked in the deflected ball to tie the match.
Two of the first three shots by the Mustangs landed in the back of the net. Midwestern State retook the lead in the 22
nd minute. Alyssa Salinas took a shot from about 28 yards out that went over the reach of the Lions'
Jen Peters.
The Mustangs switched goalkeeper right after the goal from Salinas. Taylor Camp checked into the match and had four saves in the remainder of the match.
Campuzano and the Lions did not trail for long after the second Mustangs' goal. Off the reset following the goal,
Karalie Morrison (North Richland Hills – Colleyville Heritage) and Campuzano had a two-person transition chance and made their way down the field. Morrison took a shot from 30 yards out that was initially saved by the Mustangs, but Campuzano was there for the rebound and shot it in.
A set piece goal gave the Lions the lead in the 67
th minute. A corner from Campuzano bounced off multiple players on both teams, before it landed near
Cora Welch (Plano), who softly kicked it into the back of the net.
Peters faced just four shots on goal, two were saved by her, one in each half. The Lions were the more aggressive team, outshooting Midwestern State, 20-8.
The Lions snapped the Mustangs six-match winning streak and keep their final season in NCAA Division II going.
Campuzano had six shots in the match, while Storey had four.
McKenna Keeley (Frisco – Memorial) had three and Morrison and
Skylar Sorrell (Monroe, La.) had two each. Storey and Welch scored in back-to-back matches, while Campuzano scored her 10
th goal of her final collegiate season.
Gallery: (11-9-2021) Soccer at LSC Championship Quarterfinal
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