A&M-Commerce soccer looks to stay unbeaten

Soccer

After their match against Dallas Baptist University scheduled for last night was postponed, the A&M-Commerce women's soccer team will now have their first road test against Newman University on Sunday at 11 a.m.

A solitary goal from freshman Tareyn Blanton gave the Lions a 1-0 home win over Tusculum last Saturday. Head coach Neil Piper said while the team attempts to treat every game the same way, there are extra factors when playing away from Commerce.

"We try and do the same," he said. "Going up to Newman in Wichita, Kan., the grass is a little bit thicker, it's not as fast as our field. So, you make a few adjustments that way. Otherwise, you just try to play the way you play and see how it goes."

The Jets are 2-1, and began the season with two 1-0 overtime wins over Northwest Missouri State and Missouri Southern. Junior striker Sade Humphrey scored both goals in those contests. The most recent Newman match ended in a 1-0 loss to Rockhurst University on Sept. 8.

Piper said he would like to see his team improve their defensive abilities ahead of Sunday's match.

"I do think we need to work on our tackling a little bit better and not getting beat in the midfield," he said. "I also think our forwards need to do a little bit more work defending, so we'll work on that over the next two days."

The Dallas Baptist game will now be played on Tuesday, Sept. 14 at 7 p.m. A&M-Commerce then returns home that Friday to play Harding University at 7:30 p.m.

Volleyball

The Lions volleyball team is looking to bounce back from a 3-2 loss to Henderson State on Thursday night with a good performance at the TexAnn Invitational tournament in Stephenville Friday and Saturday. The Lions already played their first match of the competition against the University of Texas-Permian Basin at 3 p.m. today, but the match result was not reported as of press time.

Freshman Kayla Bond and sophomore Rachel Robertson currently hold a joint team lead in kills with 51 each. Jordan Neal and Dakota Crockett are two other freshmen lighting up the stats sheet. Neal is the main provider on offense so far, averaging 8.15 assists per set. Crockett leads the team in digs with 56.

A&M-Commerce has one more game tonight at 8 p.m. against St. Mary's University, and the team plays one tomorrow against Southwest Baptist University at noon.

Golf

A&M-Commerce women's golf players will begin their first tournament of the fall season when they start the Northeastern State University Women's Golf Classic on Sunday, Sept. 12. Senior Kathleen May and Malonie Oats lead a fairly young team as head coach Louie Bledsoe begins the process of finding his top golfers.

The men's team does not start their tournament until Monday, when they travel to Abilene, Texas, for the Charles Coody West Texas Invitational. Senior Dustin Gideon features for the first time as the team's leading senior, and also flagships a team of young players looking to make a name for themselves.

Cross Country

Coach Darren Schneider takes his 9th and 12th ranked men's and women's cross country teams into their first meet this weekend. The University of Texas-Arlington is hosting the UTA Invitational tomorrow.

Seniors Brandon Womack and Kate Donovan lead their respective teams, looking to improve on last season's seventh and eleventh place finishes at the Lone Star Conference meet.