SAN ANGELO, Texas (Nov. 6) –The TWU soccer team fell to Texas A&M-Commerce, 1-0, in the 2015 Lone Star Conference Championship semifinals. The Pioneers end their season with an 11-7-2 overall record.
Both teams played to a scoreless opening 45 minutes, with each getting off four shots. The Pioneers had couple of opportunities to score in the first half but were unable to find the net. TWU's best opportunity came in the 32nd minute when freshman
Lauren Neely's shot hit the far post and bounced back into goalie's hands.
The Lions scored the only goal of the game three minutes into the second half. TAMUC's Vickey Back scored on a shot to the near post off a volley at 48:42 mark. The Pioneers had an opportunity to tie the game in the 87th minute but back-to-back shots by senior
Natalia Diaz inside the box were blocked by the defense.
"It was a great game and I can't fault the girls for their effort," said TWU head coach
Babak Abouzar. "We played really well after playing a game just 24 hours ago."
The Lions finished the game with 13-11 advantage in shots but TWU had the 6-5 advantage in corner kicks.
Senior
Ariana Morrison played all 90 minutes in the net and made nine saves.
"We were picked last in the preseason poll and we surprised some people," Abouzar said. "We finished third in the conference and seventh in the region, just one spot from going to the NCAA tournament. We are headed in the right direction."
The five seniors – Diaz, Morrison,
Kayla Gorney,
Madison Purdy and
Ryleigh Spivey – will end their careers after help the team set new school records for wins and best winning percentage (.600). The two four-year seniors – Gorney and Spivey – have won more games in the span of four years than any other senior class in TWU history with 32.
"We have a great group of seniors," said Abouzar. "They helped us set numerous records the last two seasons and they helped us build a program that is headed in the right direction. I want to thank all the fans and all the family members that supported us this year."
