Women’s soccer
A&M-Commerce women’s soccer team took a step closer to the Lone Star Conference tournament with a 4-1 home win against Northeastern State on Sunday, Oct. 25. The Riverhawks were out-shot 17 to seven, as the Lions completely bossed the game from start to finish. The scoring started early for A&M-Commerce, as senior Meagan Lasley struck in only the ninth minute. Fellow senior Jennifer Alvarado found the ball at her feet on the right side of the field and sent a low cross towards Lasley in the middle. After touching the ball past a defender, the Lions’ leading goal-scorer went in one-on-one with Northeastern goalkeeper Aubree Gallego and finished well to the right side of the net for her 11th goal.
About 30 minutes later Lasley made it 2-0 for A&M-Commerce. Junior Megan Monroe sent a free kick sailing towards the top of the Riverhawks’ penalty box. After taking a bounce, the ball landed at Lasley’s feet, and this time she finished to the lower left of the net giving the Lions a two goal advantage going into halftime.
In the second half, A&M-Commerce head coach Neil Piper initiated a formation change, placing Lasley and fellow striker Chelsey Haight further back into the midfield with freshman Haley Mull and senior Lacy Alexander in the forward positions. The change paid off almost immediately.
Just over 10 minutes after the break, sophomore Devon Herrman took the ball out to the left and sent a crossing pass back towards the center. Haight let the ball bounce before hitting it first time into the top left corner of the net. It was the junior’s sixth goal of the year and the Lions’ third goal of the match.
A&M-Commerce scored their fourth and final goal of the day in the 63rd minute. Alexander played a through pass onto the run of Mull who blew past the Riverhawks’ defenes. The freshman then gained her composure to place the ball into the lower left corner of the net for her first goal as a Lion.
Freshman Sibonet Quinones did pull one back for the visitors in the 72nd minute. Quinones sent a shot from the top of the box curling over A&M-Commerce’s sophomore goalkeeper Randi Hafele for her second goal of the season.
With this win, the Lions stay within LSC tournament range. They currently sit in sixth place on 12 points, three points behind fourth placed Midwestern and fifth placed Texas Woman’s with a game in hand which they will play on Tuesday.
“I’m happy we won, we just needed a good win,” Piper said. “I’ve just got to worry about the next game.”
The Lions’ win comes on senior day. Goalkeeper Taylor Jordan, Whitney Hancock, Alexander, and Lasley were all honored in a ceremony before the game for their hard work and achievements at A&M-Commerce.
“I thought all the seniors played well, which is fitting since it’s senior day,” Piper said.
Lasley was perhaps the most productive of the senior players in this match. All four of her shots were on target, and two of them produced goals.
“It could not have been more perfect, because a win’s a win and we needed that,” Lasley said. “We needed this win to get into the conference tournament, so of course it was just icing on the cake.”
The Lions seem to be coming into good form at a good time. With three games left, it is important they take something from all of them to secure a conference tournament spot which could lead to an invite to the NCAA tournament.
“We still have to stay focused and we still have things to work on, of course,” Lasley said. “Other than that, we’ve got out hopes high now.”
The Lions will play their last home game of the season against East Central on Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 6 p.m.
Cross country
The LSC Cross Country Championship meet was held last weekend, and A&M-Commerce was well represented, as the team finished in seventh. Senior Tyler Tyndell was the main focus, earning all-LSC honors for the third year in a row and finishing seventh with a time of 26:06.
Junior Brandon Womack also finished well in 20th with a time of 27:05. Nathan White was 32nd with a time of 27:39, and senor Gerardo Delafuente ran a time of 28:04 and finished 38th.
The team winner on the day was Abilene Christian University. All five of their runners finished in the top 13, including individual champion Amos Sang. It is the 19th straight men’s team title for Abilene Christian.
The A&M-Commerce women finished in 11th place as a team. They were led by freshman Maci Bradford, who finished 40th with a time of 25:51.8. Junior Kate Donovan finished just behind her in a time of 25:58.7.
The next meet is the NCAA South Central Regional on Saturday, Nov. 3 hosted by Abilene Christian.