COMMERCE – In a match that will have huge impact on the Southland Conference standings, the East Texas A&M University soccer team hosts Houston Christian on Thursday night at the Lion Soccer Field. 

WHO: HCU at East Texas A&M
WHERE: Commerce | Lion Soccer Field
WHEN: Sunday, October 30 | 6:30 p.m.
RECORDS: East Texas A&M is 7-6-4 on the season and 4-1-4 in Southland Conference play, while HCU is 8-8-2 overall and 3-4-2 in conference action. 

LIVE VIDEO: ESPN+ | https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/eventCalendarId/401797115
SLC International Feed: https://www.southland.org/watch/
LIVE STATS: https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=597358
TICKETS: https://vivenu.com/seller/texas-am-university-commerce-v6v3

TRUNK & TREAT, GREEK NIGHT
Prior to Thursday's match, the East Texas A&M Student-Athlete Advisory Committee is hosting Trunk and Treat, providing free treats to all fans in attendance, and it is also Greek Night.  

FULL DIVISION I MEMBERS
East Texas A&M University received approval from the NCAA in June 2025 for its expedited transition process to become full NCAA Division I members and become immediately eligible for NCAA sponsored postseason events. The Lion soccer team has played in the Southland Championship match twice in the last three seasons. 

WHAT IS AT STAKE
Plenty of seeding scenarios are in the balance during Thursday's match. The Lions can be seeded as high as No. 2 with a win on Thursday in next week's SLC Tournament and can win a share of the SLC title with a Northwestern State loss to Nicholls. East Texas A&M drops down to the No. 3 seed with a tie on Thursday and can be seeded anywhere from No. 3-5 with a loss.

HCU has clinched a spot in the SLC tournament and can be seeded as high as No. 4 or as low as No. 8 based on results around the SLC on Thursday. 

FLORES, RING TEAM UP TO DOWN THE VAQUEROS
With the match tied till the 64th minute, Malaya Ring (Dana Point, Calif.) took a long free kick into the box, which was kicked into the back of the net by Elaina Flores (McKinney - Boyd) to give the Lions a 1-0 win and keep their hopes alive for a SLC title. 

RING NAMED SLC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
After playing 59 minutes on the backline in the shutout over UTRGV and adding the assist on the match-winning goal, Ring was named the Defensive Player of the Week on Tuesday. It is the first weekly honor for her and third for the Lions this season. 

MITCHELL ADDS LATE GOAL TO SINK SOUTHEASTERN
In the 86th minute on October 16 in Hammond, Mya Mitchell (Dallas - Mesquite Horn) delivered the match-winning goal off an assist from Nia Chacon (Rowlett - Sachse) to secure three crucial points on the road for East Texas A&M and the third straight win over Southeastern. It was the seventh goal of the season for Mitchell. 

EGERTON SCORES LATE TO EDGE OUT LUMBERJACKS
On October 9 at SFA, the match was scoreless until Trinity Egerton (Garland - Rowlett) scored from near mid-field in the 83rd minute to give three crucial points on the road to East Texas A&M. It was the first career goal as a Lion for Egerton. 

TWO SECOND HALF GOALS LAND THE FIRST SLC WIN
The Lions scored twice in the second half on October 2 to pick up a 2-0 win over Nicholls at home, which was the first conference win of the season for East Texas A&M. Kristen Sueltz (The Colony) scored the match-winner and totaled two goals last week, including the equalizer in the 1-1 tie at A&M-Corpus Christi on Sunday. 

LAWLESS-FELARCA EARNS SLC WEEKLY HONOR
Following a two-goal performance at Lamar, Lawless-Felarca was named the Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Week on September 23. She is the second Lion to earn an Southland weekly honor this season. 

TWICE THE FUN
Sisters Mya Mitchell and Nya Mitchell (Dallas - Mesquite Horn) are entering their fourth season in the Blue & Gold. They are among 35 sets of sisters in NCAA Division I. 

PACIONE NAMED SLC KEEPER OF THE WEEK
Veronica Pacione (Birdville) recorded 12 saves in 135 minutes of play in two weeks against Grambling and Abilene Christian, including career-best nine saves in the 1-0 shutout win over the Wildcats. As a result, she was named the Southland Goalkeeper of the Week, the first career weekly honor for the sophomore net minder. 

MODEL OF CONSISTENCY
East Texas A&M played in the Southland Tournament for the third straight year last year and made the championship match for the second time in three years.The Lions are the only team in the conference to be a top three seed in each of the last three conference tournaments.

PROTECTING HOME FIELD
The Lions started 3-0 at home this season, which was its best start at home since 2017. With three home matches left, East Texas A&M is 4-2-1 at the Lion Soccer Field. 

A FIRST IN THE DIVISION I ERA
East Texas A&M won three regular season non-conference matches this season, which is the most in the four seasons of Division I soccer. The Lions have not won four regular season non-conference matches in a season since 2015. 

1-0 FOR SECOND STRAIGHT YEAR
The Lions picked up a 4-1 win over Little Rock to win their season opener for the second straight year. It is the first time since the 2014 and 2015 seasons that the Lions won their season opener in back-to-back seasons. 

MITCHELL CONTINUES TO MAKE STATEMENT TO START 2025
After being held to just one goal in 22 matches over the last two seasons, Mya Mitchell (Dallas - Mesquite Horn) scored twice in the win over Little Rock and then scoring in both wins at home against Grambling and Abilene Christian. The 2022 Southland Freshman of the Year has five goals on the season and the Lions are 3-1 in matches that she scores in. 

FOUR SCORE ONCE AGAIN
In the win over Little Rock, the Lions scored four goals, which is the second straight season opener that they tallied four. The four goals are also tied for the most in a match in the Division I era. 

WE KNOW EACH OTHER
The starting 11 against Little Rock featured nine players that were on the team last season. The two newcomers to start the match were Alyssa Cox (Plano Senior), a transfer from Louisiana, and Payton Joost (Wylie), a transfer from Lamar. 

HELLO NEWCOMERS
Along with Cox and Joost, newcomers Malaya Ring (Malaya Ring), a transfer from Gardner-Webb, also appeared in the match against the Trojans, while freshmen Grace Robertson (Fulshear - Jordan) and Kelsey Lefever (Princeton) came off the bench to make their Lion debuts. 

Newcomers Makayla Gonzalez (South Grand Prairie), Kaylee Humble (Harker Heights), Brooke Shields (Wylie East), and Judtih Nandwa (Mumias, Kenya) did not appear in the match against Little Rock, but Gonzalez and Humble made their Lion debuts last weekend. 

RAMIREZ MAKES HISTORY, NAMED SLC PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Kaydence Ramirez (Waxahachie) was named the Southland Conference Player of the Year and Forward of the Year in 2024, 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.    

FOUR NAMED TO ALL-SLC TEAMS
Along with Ramirez, who was named 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).

THIRD TIME WAS THE CHARM
The Lions and Oral Roberts began the season against each other for three years. 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 last season. The Golden Eagles returned serve with a 3-0 win on August 23 as both teams are undefeated on their home fields over the last four seasons. 
 
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES