CANYON, Texas – After a scoreless first half, the West Texas A&M soccer team used four second-half goals to defeat the Western Colorado Mountaineers 4-2 on Saturday afternoon in Canyon. The four goals are the most for the Lady Buffs since a 4-1 win at Eastern New Mexico on Oct. 19, 2022.
 
After Western Colorado opened the game, the Lady Buffs quickly controlled play as Sarah Hernandez took over on the Mountaineer half of the field. Hernandez rifled a shot towards Western Colorado goalkeeper Ashlyn Fitzpatrick, but Fitzpatrick smothered the scoring chance. The two teams searched for opportunities over the next minutes until Kylie Hickox broke through the WT defense 10 minutes into the game. As Hickox approached the goal, the Mountaineers' senior chipped a shot, but Reagan Heelan pushed the attempt over the crossbar for her first save of the afternoon.
 
The Lady Buffs continued to put pressure on the Western Colorado defense throughout the first half, outpacing the Mountaineers 9-5 in shots for the half. In the 23^rd minute, Western Colorado looked to take the lead, but a diving save from Heelan kept the game scoreless.
 
Despite a scoreless opening 45 minutes, the Lady Buffs and Mountaineers exchanged blows early in the second half. Less than five minutes into the second half, WT caught Western Colorado on a counterattack. After Leslie Rodriguez entered the 18-yard box, Rodriguez found an open Avery Putnam who gathered, beat a defender, and scored. The Mountaineers didn't let the Lady Buffs keep the lead for long as Winter Woolley tied the game almost two minutes later.
 
After surrendering the lead, WT went back to the attack, forcing a Western Colorado turnover in the attacking third. As a trio of Lady Buffs crashed the box, Reagan Matacale used a strong left foot to power a shot over Fitzpatrick's head into the back of the net, restoring the one-goal advantage. Western Colorado wouldn't go away quietly as Taylor Bottoms ripped a shot from inside the box. Heelan came up with a save on Bottoms' attempt, but Sarah Connolly put the rebound into the back of the net. In the 60^th minute, Madison Stokes scored her first goal in Maroon and White as the graduate midfielder skipped a shot past Fitzpatrick from 20 yards out.
 
After five goals in the first 15 minutes of the half, the two teams slowed the pace of play. As the clock ticked under 10 minutes to play, Stokes forced a corner kick from the Western Colorado defense once again. After Matacale played the ball short to Stokes, Stokes returned the ball to Matacale where she repeated her success from earlier in the game, placing a left footed shot into the back of the net.
 
The Lady Buffs hit the road where a 4 p.m. CT kick off with Adams State awaits on Friday, Sept. 13 in Alamosa, Colo.