COMMERCE – Postseason begins for the Texas A&M University-Commerce soccer team on Tuesday at the Southland Conference Soccer Tournament. The third seeded Lions face the sixth-seeded UIW Cardinals in the quarterfinals on Tuesday afternoon.  

WHO: No. 3 A&M-Commerce vs. No. 6 UIW
WHERE: Corpus Christi | Dr. Jack Dugan Soccer & Track Stadium
WHEN: Tuesday, November 5 | 4 p.m.
RECORDS: The Lions are 7-9-3 overall and finished 5-3-1 in Southland Conference play, while UIW is 8-7-3 overall and went 5-4-1 in conference play.  
 
WATCH: ESPN+ | https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/42bc05c5-dcd0-4c05-9e48-7e3a3beccd20
LIVE STATS: https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=558081
CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL: https://www.southland.org/tournaments/?id=204&path=wsoc

WHAT'S AT STAKE
A trip to the SLC Tournament semifinals is on the line, the winner of this match will face the winner of No. 2 A&M-Corpus Christi and No. 7 Lamar at 7 p.m. on Thursday. 

MODEL OF CONSISTENCY
A&M-Commerce is playing in the Southland Tournament for the third straight year, being a top three seed in each season. A&M-Commerce is the only team in the conference to be a top three seed in each of the last three conference tournaments. The Lions are looking to return to the SLC Championship match for the first time since 2022. 

RAMIREZ MAKES HISTORY, NAMED SLC PLAYER OF THE YEAR
On Monday, Kaydence Ramirez (Waxahachie) was named the Southland Conference Player of the Year, becoming just the second player in program history and first since Vicky Back in 2016 to earn conference player of the year honors. She led the conference in goals during the regular season with nine.   

FOUR NAMED TO ALL-SLC TEAMS
Along with Ramirez, who was named the conference player of the year, forward of the year, and named to first team all-conference, the Lions had three players on second team all-conference in Hannah Bell (Duncanville), Mindy Shoffit (Wichita Falls - Rider), and Melissa Storey (Tyne and Wear, England). Shoffit is named to second team all-Southland for the third year in a row, while both Storey and Bell are named to all-conference teams for the second time in their careers.   

TIME FOR REVENGE
Based on the SLC Tournament brackets, the Lions' first two matches in the tournament will come against teams that defeated A&M-Commerce during conference play. Tuesday's opponent, UIW, beat the Lions 3-0 on the road, while both Lamar and A&M-Corpus Christi downed the Lions at home. A&M-Commerce only had three losses in conference play.   

WE'VE SEEN EACH OTHER BEFORE
The Lions and the Cardinals are playing against each other in the postseason for the first time as SLC foes, but it is not their first time playing each other in the postseason. The two teams met in 1999 in San Antonio, with the Lions winning 1-0 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and advancing all the way to the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament that season.   

THIS GIRL IS ON FIRE
Ramirez announced her return to the lineup in emphatic fashion with four goals against SFA and Southeastern, scoring a brace against both SFA and Southeastern. 

RAMIREZ, DENNING EARNED SLC HONORS
Following the two wins against SFA and Southeastern, Ramirez and Sloane Denning (Flower Mound Marcus) earned recognition from the Southland conference, with Ramirez being named the offensive player of the week, while Denning was named the defensive player of the week. Denning has logged 90 minutes in the first three conference matches, two of which have been shutouts for the Lions. 

EARNED A POINT ON THE ROAD
The Lions began Southland Conference play at UTRGV, playing to a scoreless tie. The Lions have earned at least one point in every conference opener since joining the Southland, being 2-0-1 in those matches. 

ROUGH STRETCH TO END NON-CONFERENCE PLAY
A&M-Commerce entered conference play coming up short of a win in its last eight matches, the Lions played Grambling to a 2-2 tie and No. 15 Oklahoma State to a 6-0 loss on the road to end non-conference play. Last season, the Lions had two non-conference wins before securing a second place finish in SLC play. A&M-Commerce is picked to finish second again this year. 

TIED THE MEAN GREEN
After falling behind 1-0 in the second half to North Texas, the Lions tallied two quick goals within 40 seconds to take the Mean Green, but came away a 2-2 tie in the match as UNT scored a goal in the final minutes of the match. It was the first tie for the Lions this season. The match against North Texas was the third time this season and second straight that the Lions scored the first goal in the match, falling to 1-1-1 when they score first. 

MITCHELL OFF THE MARK
Mya Mitchell (Dallas - Mesquite Horn) scored to put the Lions ahead 1-0 over New Mexico State, it was Mitchell's first goal of the season and first since 2022 for the SLC Freshman of the Year. 

BIG START TO THE SEASON 
The Lions downed Oral Roberts 4-1 on August 15 to begin the season with a 4-1 record, marking the first time in the Division I era and first time since the spring season of 2021 that the Lions won their season opener. 

BELL KEEPS RINGING 
Hannah Bell (Duncanville) scored the first two goals in the win over Oral Roberts. As a result, the reigning Southland Conference Forward and Freshman of the Year was named the SLC Offensive Player of the Week, her first career weekly honor and the seventh for the Lions in the last two seasons.  

THIRD TIME WAS THE CHARM
The Lions and Golden Eagles began the season against each other for the third straight year. After a 4-0 ORU win in 2022, a 2-2 tie in Commerce in 2023, the Lions finally got over the hump to take their first win in the series. 
 
CHANCE TO REPEAT HISTORY
A&M-Commerce soared to new heights in 2023 and looks to build upon it in 2024. The Lions picked up the first winning season in the Division I era, while finishing second in the Southland, the best finish for any sport since joining the conference.
 
Bell picked up SLC Freshman of the Year and Forward of the Year honors, while Kaydence Ramirez (Waxahachie) was named the conference's Newcomer of the Year. The Lions have brought home the conference freshman of the year award for three straight seasons.
 
PRESEASON ACCOLADES
The Southland Conference released its preseason all-conference teams and A&M-Commerce led the way with seven honorees, the most in the SLC, including five on the first team.
 
Along with Bell and Ramirez, Nya Mitchell (Dallas – Mesquite Horn), Camila Montero (Langham Creek), and Mindy Shoffit (Wichita Falls – Rider) were named to the first team, while Melissa Storey (Tyne and Wear, England) and Mya Mitchell (Dallas – Mesquite Horn) were named to the second team.
 
Additionally, the Lions were to picked finish second in the SLC for the second straight year, including receiving two first-place votes. Lamar was voted to three-peat as conference champions.
 
EVERYBODY'S BACK!
All but four players from last season's roster return this year, which includes all 11 starters and all but two players that appeared in last season's Southland Conference Tournament. Additionally, 100 percent of goal production and point production returns for the Lions this year, which is tops in the country. 
 
Also returning for the Lions are Mya Mitchell, Ashley Campuzano (Dallas – Atlas Prep), and Alana Lawless-Felarca (Richardson), who missed most of last season due to injury. Campuzano and Mitchell were named to all-Southland teams in 2022.
 
HELLO NEWCOMERS
The Lions welcome four freshmen and three transfers this season. The incoming freshmen are goalkeeper Veronica Pacione (Birdville), forward Elaina Flores (McKinney – Boyd), midfielder Ava Watts (Tulsa, Okla.), and midfielder/forward Emily Bautista (Princeton).
 
While the transfers are midfielder/forward Reneta Vargas (Coppell) from Baylor, midfielder/forward McKenna O'Toole (Lake Travis) from Colorado College, and defender Trinity Egerton (Garland – Rowlett) from Baylor.

Pacione played the second half in goal last week, while both Flores and Watts appeared in the match. 
 
TWICE THE MITCHELLS
Mya and Nya Mitchell are one of 24 sets of twins in NCAA Division I Soccer this year, they are also one of two to both receive all-conference accolades in the Southland Conference.
 
SCOUTING THE CARDINALS
Just 10 days ago, the Cardinals served a 3-0 shutout defeat to the Lions in San Antonio, which also eliminated the Lions from winning the SLC regular season title. UIW tied Lamar 0-0 last Friday in the regular season finale and is led by Erica Defferding, who was named the SLC Goalkeeper of the Year on Monday. In the win over the Lions, UIW scored in the first 15 seconds of the match with Peri Olmo, Sierra Wannamaker, and Meredith Caviglia scoring in the match. Wannamaker was the team leader with five goals, while Olmo and Alex Knutson had three goals and one assist each. Defferding has played all but 90 minutes in goal for UIW, having recorded 87 saves. 

The Lions and the Cardinals are 1-1-1 against each other over the last three seasons in the Southland, but UIW holds a 14-4-3 edge in the series, which dates back to 1997.