Game Notes
 
CANYON, Texas -- The West Texas A&M women's soccer team plays in its first NCAA postseason game in four years as the Lady Buffs take on a familiar opponent in St. Mary's. The first-round matchup will be held at Dallas Baptist's Patriot Soccer Field with a 2 p.m. kickoff on Friday.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Live stats and broadcast will be available for Friday's NCAA First Round Matchup provided by the Dallas Baptist athletic communications department with the game aired on the LSC Digital Network. For more information visit GoBuffsGo.com.
 
All TIME SERIES
WT and St. Mary's played to a 1-1 draw in Canyon on Oct. 22. The Rattlers took the lead in the 57th minute on Juni Ejere's goal. St. Mary's held on to this lead until the 83rd minute when Kyndahl Britton found Emily Avila for the equalizer. Overall, the Lady Buffs control the all-time series with a 10-1-4 record.
 
SCOUTING ST. MARY'S
Like the Lady Buffs, St. Mary's also saw their conference tournament end in the semifinals. The Rattlers were the early aggressors against Dallas Baptist, but a red card stopped St. Mary's momentum. The Patriots went on to score four goals, the most given up by the Rattlers this season. Ejeri leads St. Mary's with 25 points on 11 goals and three assists. Rebecca Difronzo has allowed 15 goals this season while making 50 saves, holding a 0.84 goals-against average and 0.769 save percentage.
 
LAST TIME OUT
WT fell to Midwestern State in the semifinals of the conference tournament. The Lady Buffs scored early on a free kick from Emily Avila and held off the Mustangs pushes for a tying goal. Midwestern State broke through the WT defense in the 70th minute to tie the game. The Mustangs pulled ahead with nine minutes to play, eventually taking the game, 2-1.
 
A LOOK AT THE BRACKET
Dallas Baptist earned the No. 1-seed in the South-Central Region and hosts the first-round game between No. 4 WT and No. 5 St. Mary's. No. 3 Angelo State and No. 6 UC-Colorado Springs play for the right to take on No. 2 Colorado School of Mines in Golden.
 
HAULING IN AWARDS
Eight Lady Buffs were honored at the Lone Star Conference Awards Banquet held before the semifinal matches. Emily Avila, Asha James, and Maria-Frances Serrant earned First Team All-Conference while Reagan Heelan and Maliyah Mendoza earned Second Team. Reagan Matacale represented WT on the Third Team. Additionally, Heelan, Ashley Silvestre, and Mandy Stricker earned spots on the All-Academic team. James and Serrant brought home specialty awards as James was named the Midfielder of the Year, and Serrant was named the Newcomer of the Year, Forward of the Year, and Player of the Year.