CANYON, Texas – West Texas A&M scored twice in the opening 20 minutes en route to a 2-0 victory over UT Tyler on Saturday afternoon at The Pitch. The Lady Buffs improved to 4-3 overall and 3-0 in Lone Star Conference.
It was 1-0 in favor of the Lady Buffs after seven minutes as Hannah Kelley-Lusk scored her fourth goal of the season and second of the weekend. Khaline Jacob set up the goal after beating the defender to the end line before finding Kelley-Lusk in front of goal to give the home side the lead.
Maliyah Mendoza would double the lead in the 20th minute following a beautiful one-two with Jacob. The sophomore laid a ball off to Jacob before making a run into the box and beating the keeper at the far post for her first goal of the season. Samantha Silvestre came close to making it three for WT in the 24th minute but her shots from 10 yard out where both saved by UT Tyler's Camri Cecil.
Hannah Duffy nearly added to the lead in the 54th minute after getting behind the Patriot defense but the keeper came off her line to push the ball back into the middle of the field. Kelley-Lusk handled the rebound with a nice touch but her shot from distance was cleared off the line by a UT Tyler defender. Jacob had her best scoring chance in the 67th minute but her shot from close range was saved by Cecil.
Kelley-Lusk had a game-high four shots, three of those on-target, with Silvestre adding three of her own. Daniela Estrada recorded her first shutout of the season with three saves.
The Lady Buffs hit the road next week for matches against Texas Woman's (Oct. 10) and No. 18 Dallas Baptist (Oct. 12).
