HOUSTON – Coming into the match having lost two in a row, the Texas A&M University-Commerce soccer team enters the postseason on a high note with a 4-1 win over Houston Christian at Sorrels Field on Friday night.
The Lions finish the regular season with an overall record of 7-9-3 and posted a Southland Conference record of 6-3-1, which is third in the conference. A&M-Commerce will be the No. 3 seed and face UIW in the first round of the SLC Tournament next Tuesday in Corpus Christi.
The match on Friday was the first meeting since HCU upset the Lions in last year's conference tournament. Houston Christian ends the season with a record of 5-9-5 overall and 3-4-3 in SLC action, falling a point shy of making the conference tournament.
The Lions have finished in the top three in the conference in each of the first three seasons since joining the SLC.
"I am really proud of the way we played tonight. Jumping on the scoreboard early provided momentum that was needed. We were dominant winning first and second balls all night which took pressure off our backline," said coach
Ashley Gordon.
"We had great offensive distribution from a number of players. We look forward to carrying the energy from tonight's win into the conference tournament."
After having surrendered early goals in their last two losses, the Lions flipped the script with
Melissa Storey (Tyne and Wear, England) scoring off a long free kick by
Mindy Shoffit (Wichita Falls – Rider) just 95 seconds into the match.
MELISSA STOREY GOAL HIGHLIGHT
The two teams combined for 17 shots, including five on goal in the first half, but Storey's goal was the only one that ended up in the back of the net.
The Lions scored early in the second half as well, with
Kaydence Ramirez (Waxahachie) scoring her ninth goal of the season, with both Storey and
Camila Montero (Langham Creek) recording assists on the goal in the 48
th minute.
KAYDENCE RAMIREZ GOAL HIGHLIGHT
In the 62
nd minute, Shoffit tallied her first goal of the season and first in over a year, with Montero also recording an assist on the corner kick.
MINDY SHOFFIT GOAL HIGHLIGHT
The Huskies scored their only goal of the match in the 70
th minute as Katie Marker scoring off assists from Alexa Huerta and Olivia Rossman.
Hannah Bell (Duncanville) answered for the Lions in the 73
rd minute, with Ramirez recording the assist on the goal.
HANNAH BELL GOAL HIGHLIGHT
The Lions had the 18-11 advantage in shots, 6-3 edge in corners, while Houston Christian had the 6-2 edge in saves.
Veronica Pacione (Birdville) recorded both saves for the Lions, while Emmy McKeon had six saves for the Huskies.
A&M-Commerce is now 4-1 over HCU over the last three seasons.
-TAMUC-
