vs Eastern New Mexico - Nov. 2
LIVE STATS | VIDEO
GAME NOTES
CANYON, Texas. – #19 West Texas A&M begins its quest for back-to-back Lone Star Conference Women's Soccer Championship on Friday, Nov. 2, when they host rival Eastern New Mexico at The Pitch. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
The Lady Buffs finished the regular season 15-2-1 overall and 10-1-1 in conference play earning the right to host the tournament for the first time since 2012. The fifth-seeded Greyhounds defeated Texas A&M-Commerce, 2-0, on Wednesday to advance to the semifinals for the second straight year.
WEST TEXAS A&M
The Lady Buffs enter the Lone Star Conference Women's Soccer Championship 15-2-1 overall, one win short of tying the program-record for most wins in a season.
WT scores a conference-high 2.3 goals per game led by the duo of Khaline Jacob and Hannah Kelley-Lusk. Jacob has a team-high 11 goals while Kelley-Lusk has scored nine of her own to go along with six assists for a total of 24 points.
Cheyenne Orozco is the leader of a defense that is allowing 0.67 goals per game and only allowed two goals in the first half this season. Courtney Dippel has been great in goal ranking near the top in the conference in every statistical category.
EASTERN NEW MEXICO
First year head coach Joshua Smith has the Greyhounds back in the Lone Star Conference Women's Soccer Championships Semifinals for the second straight after defeating Texas A&M-Commerce on the road. The Greyhounds (8-8-2) dropped three of their last four matches but put together a total team effort to earn the right to play at The Pitch this weekend.
ENMU enters the semifinal averaging 1.22 goals per game with 17 of their 22 goals coming in the second half. Keyera Zuinga has a team-high five goals, two of those coming on Wednesday, to go along with one assist for 11 points. Charlotte Collins-Blaze's three goals are the second-most on the team as she scored her first career brace against UT Permian Basin during the last weekend of the regular season. Bailey Bosley and Victoria Nunez are tied for the team lead with three assists.
Taylor Jackson has been the goalkeeper of choice for the Greyhounds having appeared in 17 of their 18 matches. She ranks third in the LSC in goal against average (0.94), shutouts per game (.353) and fourth in save percentage (.788).
LAST MEETING
The Lady Buffs defeated Eastern New Mexico 2-1 on Wednesday, Oct. 10, at Greyhound Stadium courtesy of second half goals from Samantha Silvestre and Hannah Kelley-Lusk.
After being held to three shots in the first half, WT came out a different team in the second half with Silvestre scoring her second of the season on corner kick in the 54th minute. Kelley-Lusk would double the advantage in the 75th minute with a shot from inside the 18-yard box. ENMU would score late for their second consecutive meeting but to no avail as WT won in Portales for the first time since 2016.
THE SERIES
Friday's contest will be the rivals 26th meeting all-time and second time they have met in the Lone Star Conference Women's Soccer Championship. WT defeated the Greyhounds 1-0 on Nov. 3, 2011 in Abilene, Texas with All-American Leslie Briggs scoring the winner in the 78th minute off a corner kick.
Overall, WT holds a 16-6-3 advantage in the series with wins in six of their last eight matches against ENMU. A win in Friday would mark the first time in program history the Lady Buffs have defeated the Greyhounds three times in the same season.
WT REMAINS AT 19TH IN USC COACHES POLL
For the second consecutive week, West Texas A&M was ranked 19th in the United Soccer Coaches Poll released on Tuesday afternoon. The LSC Regular Season Champions are one of three teams from the South Central Region (Colorado School of Mines, UC-Colorado Springs) ranked in the Top 25.
REGIONAL RANKINGS
The nationally-ranked Lady Buffs were ranked second in the third and final NCAA Division II South Central Regional Rankings released on Wednesday afternoon. The Top 5 remained the same with #5 Colorado Mines, WT, #15 Colorado-Colorado Springs, Westminster and St. Edward's. Dixie State jumped to sixth followed by Newman and Dallas Baptist.
OUTRIGHT CHAMPS FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 2012
With their 2-1 win over Angelo State (thanks in large part to Maliyah Mendoza's brace), WT clinched its first outright Lone Star Conference Regular Season Championship since 2012. They tied for the title with Texas A&M-Commerce in 2016.
DIPPEL DOING HER THING
Earlier this season, senior goalkeeper Courtney Dippel broke the program record for most career saves in a 0-0 draw with Angelo State. She is one win away bagging her second program record as her 41 careers wins are tied with Jamie Griffis-Roach for the most in Lady Buff history.
FRESHMAN GROWING UP
The Lady Buffs have relied on freshman to make an immediate impact this season with Maliyah Mendoza and Emily Avila both logging close to 1,000 minutes this season. Mendoza, mainly used as a right back, scored both goals in WT's 2-1 win over ASU on Friday while it was Avila's through ball for midfielder that led to Khaline Jacob's game-winner on Sunday against UT Permian Basin.
GAME-WINNING GALS
Khaline Jacob and Hannah Kelley-Lusk have each scored four game-winning goals this season. That total is the fifth-most in program history and marks the first time in program history two players have registered 4 or more game-winners in a single season.
LOOKING FOR NO. 50
A win on Friday would give the Lady Buffs their 50th win at The Pitch since it opened in 2010. They have gone a program-best 8-1-0 at home this season including eight straight victories.
WT HEAD COACH CHAD WEBB
WT head coach Chad Webb, a two-time LSC Coach of the Year, is now in his ninth season at the helm of the Lady Buffs. He is 90-67-18 overall during his time in Canyon. He has led WT to a pair of NCAA appearances during his tenure. Webb won his 50th Lone Star Conference game in WT's 2-1 double overtime victory over MSU Texas on Sunday.
LIVE COVERAGE
Live stats and webstreaming will be available for both games this week. For more information, visit the Women's Soccer Schedule Page at GoBuffsGo.com
A LOOK AHEAD
With a win over Eastern New Mexico in Friday's semifinal, the Lady Buffs would play its second consecutive LSC Tournament title on Sunday at 1 p.m.
