CANYON, Texas – Following a 0-2 start to the season, the Lady Buffs returned to the friendly confines of The Pitch with a match up New Mexico Highlands on Thursday night. West Texas A&M is winless no more as they scored three unanswered goals in a 3-1 victory over the Cowgirls. The win improved the Lady Buffs record to 1-2-0, while NMHU fell to 0-2-1.

"Every win feels good and it feels even better when you score three goals," said WT head coach Chad Webb. "The three goals that we scored were really good and I feel that we had a lot of chances to score more. We have been encouraging Marlene to take more shots as she strikes the ball beautifully. That was on full display tonight."

The Lady Buffs night got off to a rough start when the Cowgirls earned a free kick just outside of the box in the first minute. Zinn Hanning-Marrufo made WT pay as she slotted the ball in the upper 90 giving NMHU their first lead of the seaon.

The Cowgirls lead was short lived as freshman Marlene van Mourik scored her first goal of her short career to even the match. The Danish forward received a pinpoint pass from Katelyn Taschler on her run through the box before slotting the ball past the keeper.

"It felt really good to finally get my first goal," said van Mourik on her feelings after scoring her first career goal. "Starting at forward allowed me to get the ball more which allowed me to get more shots on goal."

The Lady Buffs continued to press and nearly took the lead in the 17^th minute when Kaitlin Steele got on the end of van Mourik's corner but was denied by the post. Taschler got on the end of the rebound but her shot sailed wide.

WT's van Mourik nearly picked up her second in the 21^st but was denied by Makenna Luster. WT took the lead in the 23^rd minute and never looked backon an absolute beauty of a strike from sophomore Khadidra Debesette. Alejandra Dockery picked up her first assist of the season on the goal when Debesette brought the ball down from her chest before cheekily chipping the ball over the keeper from 15 yards out.

Junior Lucy Chalgren nearly made it 3-1 in the 38^th minute but was denied by NMHU's Apolonia Thomas after the Cowgirls switched keepers in the 33^rd minute. The Lady Buffs finished the first half with a majority of the possession while holding a 12-2 advantage in shots.

The Lady Buffs continued to pressure the Cowgirls as van Mourik picked up four shots in the first twenty minutes of the second half. WT put the match out of reach in the 66^th minute on a goal from freshman Ronni Ajeto. The Henderson, Nev. latched onto a loose ball in the box after NMHU failed to clear and tapped it into the back of the net.

The Lady Buffs finished the match with a 21-8 advantage in shots, seven of those being on target.

Courtney Dippel finished the match with three saves for her eighth career victory.  

The Lady Buffs will travel down Interstate 27 on Saturday, Sept. 10 for a match up with Lubbock Christian. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.

NOTES:

·  van Mourik's 11 shots are the second-most in school history. Only Sarit Shenar and Amy Daniels have more (12).

· Ajeto and van Mourik recorded their first collegiate points in today's match.

·  Alexis Habala made her collegiate debut checking in the 86^th minute for Lucy Chalgren.

· Khadidra Debesette now has a team-high four game winning goals.