At Texas Woman's 9-26-14 (Live Stats / Video)
 
At Texas A&M-Commerce 9-28-14 (Live Stats / Tickets)
 
Lady Buff Game Notes
 
CANYON, Texas – The Lady Buff women's soccer team will hit the road for back-to-back away contests this weekend to open up Lone Star Conference play. WT will begin with Texas Woman's on Friday evening at 7 p.m. in Denton, Texas followed by Texas A&M-Commerce on Sunday afternoon in Commerce, Texas for a noon kickoff.
 
LIVE COVERAGE: Live stats will be available for both matches this weekend while video will only be provided for the contest at TWU on Friday. Up-to-the-minute scoring updates can also be found by following @wtathletics on Twitter.
 
LSC PRESEASON POLL: To begin the season, the Lady Buffs were selected third in the LSC Preseason Poll with 61 total votes. Midwestern State topped the list with six first-place votes and 80 total followed by Angelo State with seven first-place votes and 72 overall. Rounding out the list were TAMUC, TWU, and Eastern New Mexico, respectively. Additionally, senior defender Rhea Belgrave was tabbed LSC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. The Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago, native, earned the identical regular season honor in 2013 as a junior.
 
TEXAS WOMAN'S AT A GLANCE: The Pioneers are one of LSC surprises early on this fall as they have started the season extremely well. After dropping its season opener 2-1 to No. 24 Fort Lewis, TWU is riding a four game win streak, with its latest victory being a 3-1 stunning upset over No. 18 St. Edward's at home. Each of the Pioneers' other three wins were shutouts: 2-0 over Colorado Mesa, 4-0 over Harding, and 6-0 over Ouachita Baptist. The last game was an impressive 5-0 shutout victory over Rogers State on Tuesday.
 
Natalia Diaz, the reigning LSC Offensive Player of the Week, has led the way for TWU offensively this season as she has already totaled eight goals, including three game-winners, and three assists for 19 total points. Three other Pioneers have scored multiple goals. Ariana Morrison, also the reigning LSC Defensive Player of the Week, has started all five games in goal and owns a 0.55 GAA and a .889 save percentage with 24 saves and only three goals against.
 
In 2013, the Pioneers narrowly missed out on the LSC Tournament as they finished as the fifth seed in the conference with a 5-11-2 overall record and 2-7-1 LSC mark. The Lady Buffs are 11-2-2 all-time against TWU. Last season, WT won both meetings, a 1-0 overtime thriller in Canyon on Sept. 27 and a 2-1 victory in Denton on Nov. 3.
 
TEXAS A&M-COMMERCE AT A GLANCE: TAMUC has started off strong this season as well as it currently owns a 5-2 overall record. After starting off the year with back-to-back wins over UC-Colorado Springs and St. Mary's they suffered a 2-0 loss to No. 20 Columbus State. The Lions then pulled off a major 2-0 upset win over No. 2 West Florida. Since then, TAMUC has recorded wins over Dallas Baptist and Ouachita Baptist while dropping a close 1-0 decision to No. 18 St. Edward's. Before their matchup with WT on Sunday, the Lions will host Eastern New Mexico on Friday evening at 7 p.m.
 
WT is 18-10-2 all-time against the Lions. Last season, both teams played to a scoreless draw in Canyon on Sept. 29 while the Lady Buffs earned a 3-1 victory on Nov. 1 in Commerce.
 
SOUTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA STATE REVISITED: The West Texas A&M women's soccer team will head into LSC competition this weekend after an impressive 3-0 shutout victory over Southwestern Oklahoma State on Tuesday afternoon in Weatherford, Okla. With the win in the Lady Buffs' final road non-conference game, the team improved to 3-4 while the Bulldogs remain winless with a 0-5-1 record.
 
Finally in the 41st minute, the Lady Buffs were able to break through and grab the lead. At the 40:18 mark, redshirt freshman Katelyn Taschler took a touch and dribbled to the top middle of the box and snuck a hard shot just inside the right post. The score would mark Taschler's first of the season and her WT career.
 
The Lady Buffs's led at the break in shots, 9-4, their second-highest offensive output of the season for the first half of play. Taschler and freshmen Rachel Herring and Lucy Chalgren led the way with two attempts each. Freshman goalkeeper McKynzie Zick would need just one save to make it through the first frame.
 
In the 53rd minute, junior Haley Girard would also grab her first goal of the season. She took a perfectly placed cross from Taschler at the far right wing to net the insurance goal. The goal would give Taschler her first helper of the season and her WT career.
 
Junior Emily Krenek would add to her team-high scoring output with her fourth goal of the season to make the eventual final score 3-0. It would come in the 71st minute after sophomore Ashlee Craig took a shot inside the middle of the box. Her attempt would be blocked before Krenek trailed the bounce and found the net.
 
The Lady Buffs finished with 18 shots to the Bulldogs' five. Chalgren, Herring and Krenek each totaled three. Zick grabbed the win and earned her third shutout of the season.
 
With the win, the Lady Buffs remain unbeaten all-time against SWOSU with a 15-0-1 record.
 

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#12 Rachel Herring
Position: F
Height: 5-5
Class: Freshman
Hometown: Fort Worth, Texas
High School: W.E. Bowell HS

  

Favorite team of any sport: WT Women's Soccer
 
Favorite movie quote: "Shake'N'Bake" – Ricky Bobby
 
What kind of music do you listen to during pregame warm-ups?: Hip-Hop
 
Favorite hobby outside of soccer: "Watching movies"
 
Most embarrassing moment ever: "Tripped and landed on my face on the way to my first college class."
 
Something interesting about you that not many people know?:  "I have a twin."
 
Name you made for your car: "Karen – from Mean Girls"
 
If you were an ice cream flavor, what would it be and why?: "Chocolate chip cookie dough because there are many layers to my personality."
 
Do you have any pets and if so what are their names?: "Two labs named Layla and Luke"
 

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#0 Ashley Avila
Position: GK
Height: 5-7
Class: Freshman
Hometown: Lubbock, Texas
High School: Lubbock HS

  

Favorite team of any sport: Manchester United
 
Favorite movie: "White Chicks"
 
What kind of music do you listen to during pregame warm-ups?: Hip-Hop or Rock
 
Favorite hobby outside of soccer: "Reading or baking"
 
Most embarrassing moment ever: "When I tripped going up the stairs and I took someone down with me."
 
Something interesting about you that not many people know: "My pinkie toe on my left foot won't go down or curl."
 
If you were an ice cream flavor, what would it be and why?: "Chocolate because I get super dark."
 
Do you have any pets and if so what are their names?: One dog named "Buddy"