COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce soccer team enters a crucial weekend of Southland Conference play with just five matches left in the regular season. The Lions face defending conference champion, Lamar, on Sunday.
LIONS' WEEKEND SCHEDULE
HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH BLOCK PARTY
Prior to Friday's match, the Lions are hosting the Hispanic Heritage Month Block Party, which includes free food, free t-shirts for a limited number of fans. Festivities begin at 5 p.m. in the parking lot outside the soccer field.
WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE LIONS
The Lions host the final home stand of the season, welcoming Nicholls on October 20 and UIW on October 22.
A LOOK BACK AT LAST WEEK'S ACTION
A&M-Commerce picked up a 4-3 win over HCU last Friday at home, scoring four goals in the first half.
GOING STREAKING
Coming into this weekend, the Lions have won six in a row. The six-match winning streak is the longest streak for the Lions since 2016. The Lions had a seven-match winning streak last in 2015 and the longest winning streak in program history is eight, which happened in both 2014 and 1998.
The Lions are 5-0 in conference play, which matches the best start to conference play since 2004 and 1999. A win on Friday gives A&M-Commerce the best start to conference play in program history.
UNBEATEN AT HOME
A&M-Commerce moved to 4-0-1 at the Lion Soccer Field this season by beating HCU. The five-match unbeaten streak is the longest to start the season since 2017, a season in which the Lions won their first nine home matches.
STOREY EARNS SLC RECOGNITION
Melissa Storey (Tyne and Wear, England) earned Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors after recording four points against HCU. She had an assist on the first and third goal of the match, while scoring the second goal of the match.
The Lions have increased their season total to five weekly honorees this year.
Sophia Dean (Spring – Grand Oaks) has been named Goalkeeper of the Week twice,
Nya Mitchell (Dallas – Mesquite Horn) was named Defensive Player of the Week last week, and
Kaydence Ramirez (Waxahachie) has earned Offensive Player of the Week award once.
SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
| Date |
Goalkeeper |
Defensive |
Offensive |
| Aug. 22 |
Makenzie Hall, UIW |
Eve Clarkson, UIW |
Kelsey Fuller, Southeastern |
| Aug. 29 |
Sophia Dean, A&M-Commerce |
Ellie-Mae Sanford, UIW |
Kaydence Ramirez, A&M-Commerce |
| Sept. 5 |
Kennedy Stelling, A&M-Corpus Christi |
Lauren Andre, Nicholls |
Maggie Murray, A&M-Corpus Christi |
| Sept. 12 |
Libe Banuelos, Northwestern State |
Rachel Loetzer, A&M-Corpus Christi |
Hollie Massey, Lamar |
| Sept. 19 |
Nicole Panis, Lamar |
Arely Alaniz, Lamar |
Cariel Ellis, Lamar |
| Sept. 26 |
Jackie Kelly, McNeese |
Martine Ellefsen, McNeese |
Taylor Spitzer, Northwestern State |
| Oct. 3 |
Sophia Dean, A&M-Commerce (2) |
Nya Mitchell, A&M-Commerce |
Hollie Massey, Lamar (2) |
| Oct. 10 |
Nicole Panis, Lamar |
Rachel Loetzer, A&M-Corpus Christi |
Melissa Storey, A&M-Commerce |
BELL IS ON FIRE
Hannah Bell (Duncanville) scored a goal in her first collegiate match, tallying a goal in the first half against Oral Roberts. She has scored eight goals on the season, which includes match winners against UTEP, Northwestern State, and Southeastern.
She leads the SLC in goals during her freshman season and making a strong push for the Lions to bring home the conference freshman of the year award for the third year in a row.
Bell has scored in every conference match this season and is believed to be one of three players in NCAA Division I to achieve that feat this season.
A HISTORIC WIN OVER GOLDEN HURRICANE
Scoring once in each half and posting a shutout in net against Tulsa gave the Lions a 2-0 win, their first in 2023. It was also A&M-Commerce's first non-conference win in the Division I era.
SUELTZ' BRACE POWERS LIONS OVER MINERS
Kristen Sueltz (The Colony) scored the first equalizing goal and then added the match-winner against UTEP for the win. She did not have a goal this season prior to the win over the Miners.
A FRESH SLATE
The Lions head into the 2023 season with several newcomers, highlighted by three transfers from fellow NCAA Division I schools and impactful freshmen. The Lions are picked to finish second in the Southland Conference, which is the program's highest predicted finish since 2018.
A HISTORIC 2022
The Lions are coming off a historic season last year, which was A&M-Commerce's first in NCAA Division I and the Southland Conference. The Lions went 9-9-2, finishing third in the SLC during the regular season and advancing to the SLC Tournament Championship match.
A&M-Commerce retains four all-conference players from last season, highlighted by 2022 Southland Freshman of the Year
Mya Mitchell (Dallas – Mesquite Horn) as well as
Ashley Campuzano (Dallas – Atlas Prep),
Nya Mitchell (Dallas – Mesquite Horn), and
Mindy Shoffit (Wichita Falls – Rider).
PRESEASON POLLS
In the SLC preseason poll, the Lions were voted to finish second, behind defending SLC champion Lamar. Additionally, Campuzano and
Mya Mitchell were named to preseason first team all-conference, while Shoffit,
Nya Mitchell, and
Hailey Griffin (Byron Nelson) were named to preseason second team all-conference.
2023 Southland Preseason Poll
| 1 |
Lamar (14) |
126 |
| 2 |
A&M-COMMERCE |
97 |
| 3 |
Southeastern |
84 |
| 4 |
HCU (2) |
83 |
| 5 |
Northwestern State (2) |
81 |
| 6 |
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi |
68 |
| 7 |
McNeese |
53 |
| 8 |
UIW |
33 |
| 9 |
Nicholls |
23 |
MITCHELLS IN RARIFIED COMPANY
Both Mya and
Nya Mitchell were named to preseason all-conference teams this year. They are believed to be the only sisters in NCAA Division I women's soccer this year to have both earned preseason all-conference honors.
TWICE THE FUN
The Mitchells are also among 17 sets of twins in NCAA Division I women's soccer, represented by 17 programs.
THEY ARE ALL BACK
Ashley Gordon, who enters her second season as the Lions' coach, retains her entire staff from a year ago.
Omar Morales remains as the assistant coach and
Luca Crivellari continues as the program's graduate assistant.
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
The Lions go for their third straight and second win this season over A&M-Corpus Christi. The Islanders have won two in a row coming into this weekend and are 6-5-3 overall and 3-2-1 in SLC play. Megan Guy leads the team with 10 points, while defender Rachel Loetzer has earned SLC Defender of the Week honors twice.
In the first match between the two teams, the Lions picked up a late goal from Storey to grab three points on the road, which served as the SLC opener for both teams, who also played in the SLC Tournament a year ago.
Lamar is the defending conference and conference tournament champion and defeated A&M-Commerce three times a year ago, including the SLC Tournament Championship Match. The Cardinals have won 10 in a row coming into this weekend and are regionally ranked as the No. 9 team in the Midwest Region by United Soccer Coaches. Lamar hosts UIW on Friday.
Hollie Massey has team-leading 16 points, while Cariel Ellis has 13. Nicole Panis has started all 14 matches and has a goals-against average of 0.44. She has 44 saves on the season. Sunday is the only regular season meeting between the two teams, who were picked as the top two teams in the conference during the preseason.
-TAMUC-
