DENTON, Texas (Oct. 11, 2016) – Texas Woman's University heads to No. 24 Texas A&M-Commerce for a Lone Star Conference matchup Wednesday at 7 p.m. on Lion Soccer Field.
 
TEXAS WOMAN'S (6-5-1, 2-4-0 LSC) at No. 24 TEXAS A&M-COMMERCE (8-3, 5-1 LSC)
Wednesday, Oct. 12 at 7 p.m.
Lion Soccer Field (Commerce, Texas)
 
About the Pioneers
TWU enters the second half of Lone Star Conference play looking to improve on its 2-4 mark within the league. Goalkeeper Samantha Jimenez leads the Lone Star in saves per game (5.75) and sits second in total saves (69) and shutouts (5), while Chelsea Martin ranks third in goals (7) and fourth in points per game (1.17).
 
About TAMUC
The Lions climbed back into the NSCAA poll at No. 24 this week following wins at Angelo State and Texas-Permian Basin. TAMUC leads the Lone Star in scoring average at two goals per game, and Michelle Kotlick is first with six assists on the season.
 
History between Texas Woman's and Texas A&M-Commerce
The Pioneers bested the Lions for their biggest upset in program history in the most recent matchup, a 3-0 win over the then-No. 11 Lions Sept. 28 on TWU Soccer Field. However, the Lions hold a sizable series advantage over the Pioneers at 15-2 dating to 2002. The outcome between the two teams has also ended in a tie during six of the 24 overall meetings.
 
Last meeting of TWU and TAMUC
DENTON, Texas (Sept. 28, 2016) – Texas Woman's University capitalized on a free kick, a corner and a penalty kick against 11th-ranked Texas A&M-Commerce to knock off the highest-ranked opponent in program history in a 3-0 victory Wednesday night at TWU Soccer Field.
 
The win also gave TWU (5-3, 1-2 LSC) its first conference victory of the season and snapped a three-game skid. The loss for TAMUC (5-3, 2-1 LSC) ended a four-game win streak and handed the Lions their first league loss on the year.
 
Maddie Nolton tallied her first goal in a Pioneer uniform in the 22nd minute on a free kick after Nancy Chavez was taken down and fouled. Nolton set up 20 yards out and sent a strong, direct shot to the goal for the first score of the contest.
 
In the 74th minute, Nolton teamed up with Lucero Chavez and handed her an assist off of a corner kick where Chavez headed in a goal to also join the Pioneer scoring club for the first time and put TWU up 2-0. After a shot attempt by a Lion was saved by Samantha Jimenez one minute later, frustration mounted for TAMUC as a yellow card was assessed.
 
The Lions sent a shot wide and Jimenez stopped an attempt with less than four minutes on the clock to keep the Pioneers up by a pair. With two minutes remaining in the contest, Chelsea Martin secured the win on a penalty kick to the back left corner of the goal.
 
Commerce outshot the Pioneers 19-to-13 while each team took eight shots on goal and seven corner kicks. Jimenez finished the contest with eight saves in her 90 minutes of play.
 
Pioneers fall 2-0 at Angelo State
SAN ANGELO, Texas (Oct. 9, 2016) – Texas Woman's University mustered a season-low three shots, one of which was on goal, in a 2-0 loss to Angelo State Sunday afternoon at ASU Soccer Field.
 
ASU (8-3-1, 4-1-0 LSC) registered 23 shots, the most allowed by a TWU opponent on the season. The Belles attempted eight shots on goal to TWU's one, while ASU tallied four corner kicks to one by the Pioneers. Samantha Jimenez saved six shots for TWU.
 
Lauren Neely fired off the first shot for TWU (6-5-1, 2-4-0 LSC) but was blocked eight minutes into the contest. During the next minute, a free kick for ASU off of a handball turned into a header goal by Trenadey Scott on an assist by Kathleen Keoughan.
 
Chelsea Martin recorded the other Pioneer shots, but the first was saved by the goalkeeper and the second sailed wide of the goal. The Belles added another goal during the 79th minute off a rebound from a blocked shot.
 
Soccer recognized by NSCAA for academic achievement
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (October 6, 2016) – Texas Woman's University earned the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Team Academic Award for exemplary performance in the classroom as a team during the 2015-16 academic year by recording an overall grade point average of 3.36.
 
To qualify for the award, the team must have a minimum grade point average of 3.0 or higher for the entire academic year. The team GPA is determined by adding every player's GPA, then dividing by the number of players. A total of 892 soccer teams (315 men, 577 women) from throughout the United States were recognized for their efforts.