CANYON, Texas – The West Texas A&M women's soccer team returns to The Pitch Friday as it opens Lone Star Conference play against Texas Woman's and No. 11 Texas A&M-Commerce. The Lady Buffs and Pioneers are set for a 7 p.m. kick Friday, while the Lady Buffs entertain Texas A&M-Commerce Sunday at 1 p.m.
Fans can access live stats, streaming links and ticket information for the games at www.gobuffsgo.com on the women's soccer schedule page. Angelo Pontello will have the call of the games on the webstream.
The Lady Buffs have not played a game since a disappointing 6-0 loss at Southwestern Oklahoma State Sept. 14, where the Lady Bulldogs scored four goals in the first half en route to handing WT its worst loss in program history.
This season, the Lady Buffs are led by sophomore Marlene van Mourik, who leads the team with three goals, along with one assist and seven points. She has a team-high 28 shots (.107) and 17 on frame (.607), while recording one game winner. Freshman Calista Cordero and sophomore Samantha Silvestre each have a goal with Silvestre having the second game winner. Sophomore Shanelle Arjoon has two assists to lead the team. Arjoon is second on the team in shots with 17.
As a team, the Lady Buffs have scored five goals with five assists and 15 points through five games. The Lady Buffs have 74 shots (.068) with 31 on goal (.419) and two game winners. WT has outshot the opposition 74-53 and 31-26 in shots on goal. The Lady Buffs have 18 corner kicks for the year and 13 by the opponents.
Between the posts, junior Courtney Dippel has played and started all five games for 433:01 minutes, allowing eight goals (1.66 GAA) with 15 saves (.652) and two shutouts. She is 2-2-1 on the year and faced 48 shots. Freshman Syneca Pyszko saw action for 36:59 in the SWOSU game where she allowed one goal with two saves and faced five shots.
WT ranks fourth in the LSC in shutout percentage at 0.400, while TWU leads the league at a 0.667 clip. van Mourik is third in goals per game in the league (0.6), while ranking fourth in points per game (1.40). She is third in goals (3) and fourth in total points (7).
Head coach Chad Webb is in his eighth season at the helm of the Lady Buffs. He is 66-61-13 at WT. He is 10-2-1 against Texas Woman's and 6-7-1 against Texas A&M-Commerce.
Texas Woman's enters with a 3-2-1 record and has four shutouts on the year with a 0-0 tie to Regis and a 1-0 win over then-No. 6 Colorado Mines in the season-opener. The Pioneers are led by Chelsea Martin who leads the team with four goals and one assist for nine points. She has a team-high 18 shots (.222) with eight on goal (.444) with two game winners. Martin has scored half of the Pioneers' goals this season. Jazmine Navarro is second in points with six as she has one goal and a team-high four assists.
As a team, the Pioneers have eight goals with eight assists and 24 points. TWU has fired 75 shots (.107) with 34 on goal (.453) and three game winners. TWU has outshot the opposition 75-61 and has 32 corner kicks to 14 for the opponents.
In goal, Tori Worley has played in one game for 15:05 minutes with one save and faced one shot, while Maddie Vickroy has played and started all six games for 544:55 minutes. She has a 0.83 goals against average, allowing five goals and a recoding 20 saves (.800). She is 3-2-1 on the year with three shutouts and one combined.
Nationally speaking, TWU is 14th nationally in shutout percentage, while ranking second in the LSC in assists per game (1.33) and second in goals against average (0.804). The Pioneers are second in the league in assists (8) and fourth in total goals (8). Navarro ranks 23rd nationally in assists per game and second in the league (0.67), while Vickroy is second in minutes played (544:55) and second in goals against average (0.826). Navarro leads the league and is 13th nationally in assists with four, while Martin is second in the league in goals with four ranking 40th nationally. She is second in the league in points with nine.
Babak Abouzar is in his fifth season at the helm of the Pioneers. He is 37-36-7. Abouzar is 2-6 against WT in his four years of coaching the Pioneers.
The Pioneers were picked fifth in the preseason conference poll, while WT was second and Texas A&M-Commerce was picked to win the league. The poll was voted on by league coaches, sports information directors and select region media representatives.
The Lions enter the week with a 3-0-2 record and will play at Eastern New Mexico before heading to Canyon for Sunday's game. TAMUC has tied its last two games with a 0-0 tie against then-No. 6 St. Edward's and a 1-1 tie against Harding. The Lions have allowed just two goals all season and are 14th nationally in goals against average at a 0.367 clip to lead the LSC. TAMUC also leads the league and is 11th nationally in save percentage at a 0.923 clip, while ranking 26th nationally and second in the league in shutouts at a .600 average.
Individually, Sophie Haywood is 19th nationally and leads the LSC in game winning goals with two, while Caitlin Duty is third in the league in minutes in goal at 490:00 and is 16th nationally in goals against average at 0.367 clip. She is 15th nationally in save percentage at 0.923 and fourth in the LSC in saves per game at 4.80. Haywood leads the team with three goals ranking her third in the league. She has six points on the year. Kara Blasingame leads the team with three assists ranking 34th nationally and 38th in assists per game at a 0.6 clip.
Head coach Neil Piper has been at TAMUC since 1998. He is 229-123-35 overall at TAMUC and 106-62-16 in Lone Star Conference play. Piper is 13-16-2 against WT.
Following the matches this weekend, the Lady Buffs head on a three-game road trip at Angelo State, UT Permian Basin and Eastern New Mexico, before returning home to host Midwestern State in the Highway 287 Challenge on Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. at The Pitch.
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