COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce soccer team goes for its sixth straight win on Friday evening when it hosts Houston Christian, looking to stay unbeaten at home.
 
WHO: HCU at A&M-Commerce
WHERE: Commerce | Lion Soccer Field
WHEN: Friday, October 6 | 7 p.m.
RECORDS: The Lions are 6-5-1 overall and 4-0 in Southland play, while the Huskies are 3-7 overall and 1-3 against SLC opponents.  
 
LIVE VIDEO: ESPN+ | https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/84e973f9-9573-46a4-a4e9-91c9f4c82e76  
LIVE STATS: https://statb.us/b/471730
 
WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE LIONS
The Lions welcome A&M-Corpus Christi on October 13, which is the Hispanic Heritage Month Block Party, and head to Lamar on October 15.  
 
A LOOK BACK AT LAST WEEK'S ACTION
Going on the road to Louisiana, the Lions picked up a 2-0 win at Southeastern and 2-1 win at Nicholls.
 
GOING STREAKING
Coming into this weekend, the Lions have won five in a row. The five-match winning streak is the longest streak for the Lions, matching the five-match winning streak to close out the regular season and start the SLC tournament last year, which is the longest since 2016.
 
The Lions are 4-0 in conference play, which is the best start to conference play since 2004. A win on Friday matches the best start to conference play, also achieved in 2004 and 1999.
 
UNBEATEN AT HOME
By winning over Northwestern State, A&M-Commerce moved to 3-0-1 at the Lion Soccer Field this season. The four-match unbeaten streak is the longest to start the season since 2017.
 
DEAN, MITCHELL EARN SLC RECOGNITION
Sophia Dean (Spring – Grand Oaks) and Nya Mitchell (Dallas – Mesquite Horn) received Southland Conference Players of the Week honors this week. Dean played 1.5 shutout halves last week, while Mitchell logged 180 minutes on the back-four.
 
It is the second weekly honor of the season for Dean, while Kaydence Ramirez (Waxahachie) earned the recognition on August 29.  
 
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. 6	Sophia Dean, A&M-Commerce (2)	Nya Mitchell, A&M-Commerce	Hollie Massey, Lamar (2)

 
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 seven goals on the season, which include match winners against UTEP, Northwestern State, and Southeastern.
 
She leads the SLC lead 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
HCU has lost three in a row coming into Commerce on Friday. The Huskies' lone conference win was a 5-0 win at home against Nicholls, having also beaten Sam Houston and Texas Southern in non-conference play.
 
Alexa Huerta leads the team with nine points (four goals, one assist), while Chloe Bagshaw has started seven matches and allowing 3.2 goals per match with 22 saves. The Lions beat HCU at home last season for program's first ever win in the NCAA Division I era.