COMMERCE – Just three matches remain in non-conference play for the East Texas A&M University soccer team, who hosts Tulsa to end a three-match home stand, before playing at UTSA on Sunday to close out the weekend. 

LIONS' WEEKEND SCHEDULE

Date	Opponent	Coverage
Thursday • 7 p.m.	Tulsa	Watch (ESPN+) | SLC International | Live Stats | Tickets
Sunday • 1 p.m.	at UTSA	Watch (ESPN+) | Live Stats

FACULTY & STAFF APPRECIATION NIGHT
Thursday night is Faculty & Staff Appreciation Night at the Lion Soccer Field. All faculty/staff members will receive a free ticket for themselves and a discounted ticket rate for their family members for this Thursday's Lion Soccer game against Tulsa at 7 p.m! Please contact LionTickets@tamuc.edu for more information.

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. 

PACIONE NAMED SLC KEEPER OF THE WEEK
Veronica Pacione (Birdville) recorded 12 saves in 135 minutes of play last week, including career-best nine saves in the 1-0 shutout win over Abilene Christian. As a result, she was named the Southland Goalkeeper of the Week, the first career weekly honor for the sophomore netminder. She has allowed just two goals in three appearances at home this season. 

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
With the two wins at home last week, the Lions moved to 3-0 at home this season, which is the best start at the Lion Soccer Field since 2017. The Lions started 4-0 at home that season. 

A FIRST IN THE DIVISION I ERA
Coming into this week, East Texas A&M has 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 started where she left off in the two matches last week. She scored in both wins and is now the Southland leader in goals with four on the season.  

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. 

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. The 2022 Southland Freshman of the Year totaled five points in the win. 

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 last Saturday as both teams are undefeated on their home fields over the last four seasons. 
 
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
The Lions are playing Tulsa for the third time in the last three years, with both teams having won on their home grass each time. The Lions won 2-0 at home in 2023, before falling 2-1 in Tulsa last season. This season, the Golden Hurricanes are 4-2 and have won two in a row coming into Thursday's match in Commerce. Tulsa and East Texas A&M has two common opponents thus far with the Golden Hurricanes falling to both Oklahoma and Abilene Christian, while the Lions went 1-1 against those teams this season. 

Jordan Frederick has totaled 15 points thus far this season, having scored six goals, while adding three assists, while Blaine Schutte has two goals and two assists. In goal, Tatum Sanders has 19 saves in over 318 minutes played and Abi Dolding has nine saves in 180 minutes.