COMMERCE – The postseason is here for the Texas A&M University-Commerce soccer team, who faces seventh seeded Houston Christian in the Southland Conference tournament on Wednesday.  
 
WHO: No. 2 seed A&M-Commerce vs. No. 7 seed Houston Christian
WHERE: Corpus Christi | Dr. Jack Dugan Soccer & Track Stadium
WHEN: Wednesday, November 1 | 4 p.m.
RECORDS: The Lions are 9-6-3 on the season, while the Huskies are 6-10. In conference play, the Lions had a record of 7-1-2 for second place and HCU placed seventh with a 4-6 record.
 
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WHAT'S AT STAKE
A trip to the Southland Tournament Semifinals is on the line. The winner of Wednesday's match faces either McNeese or Southeastern in the semifinals at 4 p.m. on Friday.
 
A LOOK BACK AT LAST WEEK'S ACTION
The Lions beat McNeese on the road by a score of 1-0 to secure the No. 2 seed in the tournament.
 
BELL NAMED FRESHMAN & FORWARD OF THE YEAR
On Tuesday morning, Hannah Bell (Duncanville) was named the Southland Conference Forward and Freshman of the Year. She was second in the conference with nine goals scored and tallied four match winners in conference play, which was best in the SLC.
 
The Lions have won the conference Freshman of the Year award for the third year in a row.
 
RAMIREZ IS THE TOP NEWCOMER IN SLC
Kaydence Ramirez (Waxahachie) was named the SLC Newcomer of the Year on Tuesday morning as well. She finished the season leading the conference in goals, shots, and points.
 
SIX LIONS NAMED TO ALL-SLC TEAMS
Along with Bell and Ramirez on the first team all-Southland, both Nya Mitchell (Mesquite Horn) and Camila Montero (Langham Creek) were named to the first team. Mindy Shoffit (Wichita Falls – Rider) and Melissa Storey (Tyne and Wear, England) were named to the second team, marking the first time since 2017 that the Lions had six all-conference honors.
 
HISTORIC STREAKS END AGAINST THE ISLANDERS
The 2-1 loss to A&M-Corpus Christi on October 13 ended numerous streaks for the Lions. Coming into that match, the Lions had won six in a row, which was the longest winning streak since 2016.
 
The Lions were 5-0 in conference play, which matched the best start to conference play since 2004 and 1999.  
 
FIRST LOSE AT HOME IN 2023
The Lions lost their first match of the season at home this season when they fell to A&M-Corpus Christi. The five-match unbeaten streak was the longest to start the season since 2017, a season in which the Lions won their first nine home matches.  
 
A&M-Commerce finished with a record of 5-1-2 at home this season.
 
MCKENZIE HONORED BY THE SLC
Gillian McKenzie (Mesquite Horn) posted a shutout over McNeese last Friday, recording five saves in the 1-0 win. She was selected as the SLC Goalkeeper of the Week as a result, becoming the seventh honoree from A&M-Commerce this season.
 
Ramirez has been named SLC Offensive Player of the Week twice, Sophia Dean (Spring – Grand Oaks) has been named Goalkeeper of the Week twice, Mitchell was named Defensive Player of the Week once, and Storey was named Offensive Player of the Week once as well.
 
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
Oct. 17	Jackie Kelly, McNeese	Alexi Pitt, McNeese	Hanna Moffatt, Southeastern
Oct. 24	Erica Defferding, UIW	Arely Alaniz, Lamar (2)	Kaydence Ramirez, A&M-Commerce (2)
Oct. 31	Gillian McKenzie, A&M-Commerce	Mia Salas, Houston Christian	Cariel Ellis, Lamar (2)

 
BELL IS ON FIRE
Bell 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.
 
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 HUSKIES
The Lions and the Huskies met just once in the regular season, and it was a 4-3 win for A&M-Commerce at home on October 6. The Lions led 3-0 in the first half and 4-1 at halftime, before two quick goals by the Huskies in the second half, made things interesting.
 
HCU needed a win in its final match to punch its ticket for Corpus Christi and picked up a 2-0 win over UIW to secure the last bid into the tournament. The Huskies had defender Kat Lazor named to first team all-conference, while midfielder Alexa Huerta and forward Olivia Rossman were named to the second team.
 
Huerta leads the team with 13 goals (five goals, three assists), while both Rossman and Mia Salas have four goals and an assist each. In the match in Commerce earlier this season, Taylor Sanderson played the first half and allowed four goals, while Chloe Bagshaw allowed no goals in the second half. Bagshaw has played in 13 matches and been the winning goalkeeper in five of the six wins.