West Texas A&M (3-0-1) at Texas Woman's (4-0)
Date	Wednesday, September 17th | 7:00 p.m.
Location	Denton, Texas | Pioneer Soccer Park
Live Statistics	Link
Live Video	FloCollege (Pay-Per-View)

CANYON, Texas – The Lady Buffs of West Texas A&M open Lone Star Conference action on Wednesday night as they travel to Denton, Texas to take on the Pioneers of Texas Woman's with kickoff set for 7:00 p.m. at Pioneer Soccer Park.
 
WT is 3-0-1 on the season as they picked up wins over Western Colorado and Wayland Baptist last week. Saturday's matchup saw the Lady Buffs score four goals in the first half on their way to a 5-0 shutout of the Pioneers. Wednesday night will mark the third road game of the season so far for WT as they are 2-0 with wins at New Mexico Highlands (2-1) and Western Colorado (3-2).
 
The Lady Buffs have outscored their opponents 10-3 so far this season with four Lady Buffs scoring a pair of goals each: Aaliyah McPeak, Jade Martinez, Alair Posard and Avery Putnam. Franciezca Blancaflor has been impressive in goal as the junior from Salado has registered 19 saves on 39 shots faced with one shutout in 315:00 minutes of work. 
 
A LOOK AT THE PIONEERS
Texas Woman's enters the week with an unbeaten 4-0 record as they have outscored their opponents 18-1 so far this season. Their final tune-up for league action was on Saturday afternoon in Shawnee, Oklahoma as the Pioneers scored four first half goals on their way to a 6-1 win.
 
TWU returns 10 of their 11 starters from a squad that went 11-4-4 last season, advancing to the semifinals of the LSC Championships.
 
The Pioneer offense has been well balanced so far this season with 12 different players scoring goals, six of them scoring twice. Giselle Gutierrez was named a Player to Watch by the LSC during the preseason as the junior from Plano has scored a pair of goals on 10 shots with six of them coming on goal.
 
Babak Abouzar is in his 12^th season at the helm of the TWU women's soccer program, becoming just the second head coach in program history in July of 2013. Abouzar has led the Pioneers to an overall record of 108-80-31 during his time in Denton with a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances (2019, 2023) along with nine LSC Tournament trips.
 
THE SERIES
Wednesday night marks the 34^th all-time meeting between the Lady Buffs and Pioneers, WT holds a 18-11-4 advantage in the series that dates back to 2002. The Pioneers are 9-5-2 against the Lady Buffs in Denton with last year's meeting taking place on November 1^st as TWU claimed a 3-1 victory.
 
WT HEAD COACH TURK OZTURK
Bulut "Turk" Ozturk was named the third head coach in the history of the Lady Buff Soccer program on December 19, 2024. Ozturk brings an impressive nine-season track record of collegiate coaching experience to WT. 
 
Ozturk was most recently on the coaching staff at Iowa State University for the 2024 season as the Soccer Development Coordinator. In this role, he was involved in all aspects of assisting a power four program that competes in the Big XII conference. Some of coach Turk's major duties included: Game Day coaching, video analysis for team members, scouting reports, recruiting, travel coordination and leading training sessions for the team.
 
Before Iowa State, Ozturk served as the Head Coach at Michigan Tech University for four seasons. During his tenure, he led the Huskies to their first NCAA tournament appearance in nearly a decade in 2023. Under his guidance, Michigan Tech achieved remarkable success with 17 players earning GLIAC All-Conference Awards, one All-American, over 60 players named to the All-Academic Excellence Team, and eight to the All-Academic Team.
 
LSC PRESEASON POLL
The Lady Buffs were selected 10^th in the Lone Star Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll announced on August 27^th. 
 
Dallas Baptist claimed 29 of the possible 45 first place votes for a total of 650 points to sit atop of the poll followed by Angelo State (13 first place, 634), Texas Woman's (one first place, 556), Midwestern State (511), St. Mary's (468), St. Edward's (435), Lubbock Christian (392), Oklahoma Christian (358), UT Tyler (347), West Texas A&M (284), Texas A&M International (one first place, 244), UT Dallas (168), UT Permian Basin (146), Eastern New Mexico (124) and Sul Ross State (one first place, 83).
 
Annie Rocha of St. Edward's was tabbed the league's Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. DBU senior Parker Coe was named the Defensive Player of the Year while Amanda Farris of TWU claimed Goalkeeper of the Year accolades.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Wednesday night's contest will be broadcasted on FloCollege. The LSC and FloSports reached a historic agreement in August of 2024 for the largest streaming rights deal in NCAA Division II history. Fans have two different subscription options: $19.99 per month or $107.88 per year ($8.99/month). Additionally, those who use an .edu email address from an LSC member institution will be able to sign up at a discounted subscription price of $9.99 per month or $71.88 per year ($5.99/month).
 
COMING UP
The Lady Buffs return to Canyon on Saturday afternoon as they host the Hilltoppers of St. Edward's in LSC action starting at 3:00 p.m. at The Pitch.