CANYON, Texas – The West Texas A&M women's soccer team returns home to open the second half of conference play Friday at 7 p.m. at The Pitch versus UT Permian Basin and then will host league-leading Angelo State Sunday at 1 p.m. 

The Lady Buffs are 5-3-4 on the year and 3-0-3 in Lone Star Conference play as the last remaining unbeaten team in conference play.  WT sits tied for second in the league standings with Texas A&M-Commerce as both teams have 12 conference points.  Angelo State leads the way with 13 conference points, along with a 4-1-1 record in league play and a 7-2-1 mark overall.  Midwestern State sits fourth with 10 conference points as it is a four-way race heading into the second half of conference play for the league's regular season title. 

Fans can access links to live stats and audio/video streaming at www.gobuffsgo.com on the women's soccer schedule page, while Angelo Pontello will have audio commentary of both games this weekend on the stream.

WT suffered its third loss of the season Monday in a heartbreaking 1-0, overtime loss at Oklahoma Baptist in non-conference play.  The Lady Buffs and Lady Bison played to a scoreless draw through 90 minutes as WT junior goalkeeper Courtney Dippel was tremendous, recording nine saves in the game as OBU outshot the Lady Buffs 20-3 and 10-0 in shots on goal.  It marked the first game this season where WT didn't have a shot on frame and the three shots also marked season-low. 

Despite that, Dippel was all over the box and withstood the furious attack by OBU as the Lady Buffs hadn't allowed a goal in the last 432:57 minutes until Ruth King, 49 seconds into the first overtime, took a shot from the right wing off an assist from Hannah White for the golden goal and game winner.  It was King's eighth goal of the season and ended the Lady Buffs' six-game unbeaten streak.

For the season, freshman Noir Hawash leads the team with four goals and three assists for 11 points.  She has 11 shots (.364) with four on goal (.364), while converting her one penalty kick attempt.  Sophomore Marlene van Mourik leads the team with three goals and has two assists on the year for eight points.  She leads the team with 38 shots (.079) and 23 on frame (.605) with one game winner.  Three Lady Buff freshman Hannah Kelley, Calista Cordero and Jessica Diaz each have two goals on the year. 

As a team, the Lady Buffs have scored 17 goals with 14 assists for 48 points.  The team has 163 shots (.104) with 78 on net (.479), five game winners and the one converted penalty kick.  Conversely, the opposition has scored 14 goals, with 10 assists for 38 points.  The opponents have 137 shots (.102), 66 on goal (.482), three game winners and one penalty kick conversion.

In goal, Dippel has started all 12 games for the Lady Buffs, logging 1110:04 minutes, allowing 13 goals (1.05 GAA), 49 saves (.790) and four shutouts with one combined shutout.  She has faced 129 shots and has a 5-3-4 record.  Freshman Syneca Pyszko has played in two games for 50:45 minutes, allowing one goal (1.77 GAA), with three saves and a combined shutout. 

Nationally speaking, the Lady Buffs rank third or fourth in just about every statistical category in the Lone Star Conference as a team.  Diaz is fourth in the LSC in game winners with two, while Dippel is third in goals against average at 1.054.  Hawash's four goals ranks her fifth in the league and is fifth in total points (11), while ranking fourth in total assists with three.

WT defeated UT Permian Basin in the last meeting, 4-0 in Odessa, Texas, on Oct. 1.  In the game, Hawash had her first career hat trick with four shots and three on goal scoring all of them.  Diaz tallied her first goal of the season and game winner.  WT outshot UTPB 11-10 and 5-3 in shots on goal.  Dippel recorded two saves in the game, while Pyszko had one save.  The Lady Buffs lead the all-time series with UTPB 15-0 and have posted six consecutive shutouts of the Falcons.  WT won in Canyon last season 1-0 and are 6-0 all-time at home against UTPB.

UTPB enters losers of its last three games and has gone 1-5 over the last six.  UTPB has not scored a goal in each of its last three games, dating back to a 1-0 overtime win over Eastern New Mexico on Sept. 29.  The Lady Buffs posted four goals on Oct. 1 on the Falcons, while Texas Woman's won 3-0 last week as did Texas A&M-Commerce.

The Falcons are led by Deonna Green who has three goals on 19 shots (.158) with 12 on goal (.632).  Lauren Marenco is second in scoring with four points on one goal and two assists.  She has 10 shots and five on goal.  Ariel Roybal has three points on one goal and one assist.  She is second in shots with 13 and in shots on goal with seven.  Roybal has one of the two game winners for the Falcons this season.

As a team, UTPB has scored seven goals with four assists for 18 points this year.  The Falcons have 83 shots (.084) with 41 on goal (.494) and two game winners.  The opposition has scored 31 goals with 21 assists for 83 points, while taking 214 shots (.145) and 115 on goal (.537).  The opponents have gone 6-6 in penalty kicks against UTPB this season.  UTPB ranks 21^st nationally and first in the league in saves at 7.64 per game, while Crites is 17^th nationally in saves per game (7.50) and 22^nd in total saves with 75.

In goal, Chenoa Crites leads the way playing in 10 games and logging 879:38 minutes.  She has allowed 28 goals (2.86  GAA), with 75 saves (.728) and a 1-8-1 record with one shutout.  Siena Camp has played in one game for 90 minutes, allowing one goal with three saves and a 1-0 record.  Whitney Lopez also has played in one game for 45 minutes.  She has allowed two goals with five saves. 

The Rambelles are one of the top scoring offenses in the country and tops in the LSC at 2.5 goals per game.  ASU has 25 goals on the season, which is just four less than it had all of 2016.  Trenadey Scott is eighth nationally in goals per game at 1.00 as she has 10 scores on the season, along with two assists for 22 points.  She is 21^st nationally in points and leads the LSC.  Cassandra Moosburger is second on the team in goals and points as she has five goals and two assists.  Elizabeth Rodriguez and Mackenzie Broderick each have multiple goals this season.  Avery McNeme is tied for the team lead in assists with three.

In goal, the Rambelles are led by Sammy Cude who has started every game for ASU and is second in the LSC in saves per game at 5.9.  She has allowed 1.37 goals per game and recorded two shutouts. 

The Lady Buffs and Rambelles played to a 2-2 draw last month in San Angelo.  WT redshirt freshman Hannah Kelley scored her first collegiate goal just 16:03 into the match, but a penalty kick for McNeme in the 34^th minute tied the game for the first half.  ASU took a 2-1 lead on a goal from Scott, but junior Lucy Chalgren scored her first goal in the 62^nd minute tying the game.  ASU held a 19-14 lead in shots and a 12-9 lead in shots on goal.  Dippel had 10 saves for the Lady Buffs and Cude had six for the Rambelles, along with ASU having a team save. 

WT leads the all-time series with ASU 17-13-6.  ASU won in Canyon last season and has won four-straight in Canyon.  The Lady Buffs are 9-5-1 at home against the Rambelles in series history.