GAME NOTES (PDF)
LIVE STATSÂ (CSUP) (UCCS)
VIDEO
CANYON, Texas –  The Defending Lone Star Conference Tournament Champion Lady Buffs of West Texas A&M open their 2018 season on Saturday at The Pitch as they host Colorado State-Pueblo at 7:00 p.m. They will then host #3 Colorado-Colorado Springs on Monday, Sept. 3, at noon.
COLORADO STATE-PUEBLO
The ThunderWolves were picked to finish sixth in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) preseason coaches poll following a 2017 campaign that saw Colorado State-Pueblo go 10-8-1 overall and 7-4-1 in conference play.
CSUP is led by second-year head coach Sierra Cardenas who enters the 2018 season with an overall record of 10-8-1. Prior to being named the head coach, she spent four seasons at Otero Junior College after a playing career at Eastern New Mexico.
Mackenzie Bean, the reigning RMAC Offensive Player of the Year, is back for her senior season after scoring 14 goals in 2017. Sophomore keeper Alexa Eastep was named the RMAC's Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year after recording five shutouts last year as a true freshman.
THE SERIES
The Lady Buffs lead the all-time series against the ThunderWolves, 5-4-1, with the last meeting between the two programs coming on Aug. 31, 2007. WT has won the past five games by a combined score of 16-3.
#3 COLORADO-COLORADO SPRINGS
The Mountain Lions opened their season with a 0-0 draw against Dallas Baptist on Thursday night. They recorded 17 shots, six of those on-target, but were unable to get a winner past DBU's Hope Koym. They will return to action on Saturday at Lubbock Christian before making the short trip up Interstate 27 for a Monday matinee against the Lady Buffs.
UCCS are guided by Sian Hudson who is now in her second season at UCCS. During her first season, she rewrote the record books including season records for most points, goals, goals per game, shots, shots on goal, goals against average, most wins and the second fewest losses in a season.
The Mountain Lions were picked to finish first in the RMAC Preseason Poll with 11 of the 14 first-place votes. Savannah Boarman returns for her junior season with high expectations after playing in 21 games last year leading the team to the NCAA Final Four. She was voted as the preseason Defensive Player of the Year.
THE SERIES
The Mountain Lions lead the all-time series against the Lady Buffs, 3-1-0, with the last meeting coming in last year's NCAA tournament
LADY BUFFS LOOK TO BUILD ON 2017 SUCCESS
The Lady Buffs return 10 starters from last year's team that made a deep run into the NCAA Tournament including junior Marlene van Mourik and senior Courtney Dippel. van Mourik led the team in scoring for the second-straight season with four goals and seven assists for a total of 15 points. Dippel has been a three-year starter for the Lady Buffs appearing in 55 games including 52 starts. Her 257 saves are the second-most in program history.
WT returns a big chunk of their attack including sophomore Noir Hawash scored a team-high five goals while adding three assists with Khaline Jacob scoring four for her own. Shanelle Arjoon, Jessica Diaz, Hannah Kelley-Lusk, Samantha Silvestre and Calista Cordero also scored multiple goals.
SEASON OPENERS
The Lady Buffs are 15-5-2 in season openers in their 22-year history. Their 2-0 win over Adams State last year ended a four-year winless streak.
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 75-66-17 overall during his time in Canyon. He has led WT to a pair of NCAA appearances during his tenure.
LIVE COVERAGE
The West Texas A&M Athletic Media Relations Department will provide live stats and webstreaming for all games during the 2018 season. The webstream is free of charge and can be viewed on mobile devices. For more information, visit the Women's Soccer Schedule Page at GoBuffsGo.com.
2018 LSC PRESEASON POLL
The Lady Buffs were picked to win the Lone Star Conference in the preseason poll for the first time since 2013 receiving 10 of the 18 first-place votes for a total of 109 points. Texas A&M-Commerce was picked second receiving two first place votes for 99 points followed by Angelo State with five first-place votes and 96 points. MSU Texas was picked to finish fourth followed by Texas Woman's, Eastern New Mexico and UT Permian Basin.
Angelo State's Trenadey Scott was named the league's Preseason Offensive Player of the Week with Texas A&M-Commerce's Delaney Bunselmeyer being named the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. The Lions' Caitlin Duty was tabbed as the Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year. The poll is voted on by the league's head coaches, sports information directors and select media representatives from around the region.
