CANYON, Texas – Freshman Maliyah Mendoza scored twice as the #19 Lady Buffs of West Texas A&M clinched their first outright Lone Star Conference Regular Season Championship since 2012 with a 2-1 victory over Angelo State on Friday night in front of 310 fans. WT (14-2-1, 9-1-1 LSC) will now host the LSC Tournament next Friday and Sunday.
THE BASICS
The Matchup: #19 West Texas A&M 2, Angelo State 1
Records: #19 West Texas A&M (14-2-1, 9-1-1 LSC), Angelo State (9-6-2, 7-3-1 LSC)
Venue: The Pitch
Location: Canyon, Texas
Mendoza gave the home side an early lead with her second goal of the season in the 8th minute. The Red Oaks, Texas native went past multiple Rambelle defenders before beating Kira Miller to the far post as WT scored in the opening 10 minutes of a match for the fifth time this season. They came close to adding another in the 15th minute when Hannah Kelley-Lusk got on the end of Calista Cordero's flick but the offside flag was up.
Courtney Dippel made her first save of the game in the 29th minute to deny ASU's Trenadey Scott from 10 yards out after the junior found space on the right side. The Lady Buffs wasted no time getting the ball back in the Rambelles half of the field where Mendoza scored her brace to make it 2-0 just a minute later. She was spot on with her placement to the top corner from 10 yards to beat Miller for the second time. The Rambelles would get a goal back in the 35th minute from Analise Watson from the left side.
Dippel finished the game with four saves for her 40th career victory, one shy of Jamie Griffis-Roach's program record of 41. Kelley-Lusk finished with a game-high six shots with Mendoza added five of her own.
