COMMERCE – The A&M-Commerce Lions return to action after 23 days away from the pitch on Friday, hosting the Lady Buffs of West Texas A&M.
 
WHO: West Texas A&M at A&M-Commerce
WHERE: Commerce | Lion Soccer Field
WHEN: 1 p.m. on Friday, March 26
RECORDS: A&M-Commerce is 2-0-0 overall and 2-0-0 in Lone Star Conference play. WT is 3-2-0 overall and 3-1-0 in LSC action.

TELEVISION/LIVE VIDEO: LSC Digital Network
LIVE STATS: http://statbroadcast.com/events/statmonitr.php?gid=tame
 
The Lions:
A&M-Commerce is led by head coach Neil Piper, who will coach the Lions for the 23rd season this spring. He has a 259-143-38 record. He has moved up to 15th among active Division II coaches and 24th in Division II all-time in coaching victories.
 
The Lions have six points in LSC play and are facing three matches in six days to close the regular season.
 
A&M-Commerce ranks second in the LSC in scoring at 3.0 goals per game, and the Lions' 29 shots and 11 shots on goal per contest lead the league.
 
Leslie Campuzano (Garland – Lakeview Centennial) leads the nation and the LSC in goals per game at 2.00, scoring a pair in each game so far. Her 5.0 points per game also leads the nation. She and Skylar Sorrell (Monroe, La.) are tied for the LSC lead in assists per game at 1.00, which ranks third in the nation.
 
The Lion defense has been strong, with goalkeepers Jen Peters (Allen) and Lauren Banning (Pflugerville) splitting time. Banning has played in the second half both games and been the goalkeeper of record. A key will be keeping the Lady Buffs off the board early, as the Lions have had to come back from a deficit in both games.

On the opponent…
West Texas A&M is averaging 2.4 goals per game (fifth in the LSC) and allowing 1.0 goals per game (third in the league). Their 19.4 shots per game ranks second in the LSC behind the Lions, but nearly 10 shots per game behind.
 
Hannah Kelley-Lusk is second in total goals (7) and third in goals per game (1.4). Her 3.0 points per game is third in the conference. Calista Cordero has three assists at 0.60 per game, which is fifth in the league.
 
Reagan Heelan is fifth in the conference in goal, allowing 1.02 goals per game. She's made 19 saves for a .826 percentage. The Lady Buffs lost in overtime to DBU and have rolled out three straight wins by three goals over UT Tyler, Midwestern State, and Oklahoma Christian.
 
On the series history…
This is the 44th meeting between the two teams, with WT leading the series 25-16-2. The Lady Buffs have won the last four, but the Lions have not lost in Commerce since 2014. The Lions lost two designated home games played in Rockwall in that time. This is the first meeting on the Lion Soccer Field since a 3-1 TAMUC win in 2017.