CANYON, TEXAS – West Texas A&M Women's Soccer (7-7-4, 6-5-3 LSC) is back in the playoffs for the first time since 2022 and they will take on No. 23 Midwestern State in the Quarterfinals of the Lone Star Conference (LSC) Tournament on Monday, November 2. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. in Wichita Falls, Texas.
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The game will be streamed live on
Flo Sports (registration required). Live stats will be provided by
Midwestern State.
Last Time Out
West Texas A&M closed out the regular season this past Tuesday against Oklahoma Christian as they secured the six-seed.
Lady Buffs Tie Oklahoma Christian 0-0 to Secure First Postseason Appearance Since 2022- October 27, 2026
Both teams would open the game with a multitude of offensive chances in the first 23 minutes. WT would register two shots and corner kick while OCU tallied four shots (one on goal). Their shot on goal would be saved by
Franciezca Blancaflor in the 7th minute. Following the offensive barrage, the Lady Buffs defense would settle in and limit the Eagles to one shot the rest of the half. Offensively, West Texas A&M continued to create chances with a shot on goal by
Sienna Hurrell off a corner kick but were unable to break through. The game would be tied 0-0 going into the half.
Out of the break, the offense carried over into the second half as early chances nearly came to fruition. In the 60th minute,
Sara Soto nearly broke the tie off a corner kick as she fired a shot that knocked off the post.
Alicia Cohen and
Jade Martinez each came away with shots on goal in the 63rd and 67th minute but would be denied. As they continued to press offensively, WT would have two opportunities that could have led to a penalty kick, but neither were granted after both were reviewed. Blancaflor would make a key save in the 77th minute on a transition opportunity by OCU as they fired a shot right into her chest to keep the game tied. The teams stayed interlocked the remainder of the game with neither team registering a shot on goal the rest of the way. The score would finalize at a 0-0 draw to send WT to the postseason.
Top Lady Buffs
- Franciezca Blancaflor made two saves in goal as she recorded a shutout. This was her sixth shutout of the season and her ninth career shutout which tied her with Brigid Maruszack (2002) for eighth all-time.
- Charo Rodriguez Fortea played all 90 minutes and fired three shots. This was her fourth game playing all 90 minutes.
- Jade Martinez played 67 minutes and tallied two shots with one landing on goal. This was her fourth game with 2+ shots this season.
Salado Standout
With two saves this week,
Franciezca Blancaflor continues to climb the save leaderboard at WT with 147 career saves to place her eighth all-time. Blancaflor is now 8 saves from passing Kelly Skehan (2009-10, 154) for seventh. She sits fifth in the Lone Star Conference (LSC) in saves with 77.
With her shutout, Blancaflor tied Brigid Maruszak (2022) for eighth all-time with nine career clean sheets.
The Salado, Texas native continues to make a strong case for Lone Star Conference (LSC) Goalkeeper of the Year with 75 saves, six shutouts, and a 1.16 goals allowed average.
Hats Off
With back-to-back hat tricks on October 3 and October 7,
Riley Sims became the first player in the game-by-game era (2011+) with consecutive hat tricks. She is the third player to record multiple hat tricks in a season in the game-by-game era as she joined All-Americans Maria-Frances Serrant (2022) and Hannah Kelley-Lusk (2021). The Harker Heights, Texas native became the fifth player in program history with multiple hat tricks in a career. Sims was named D2CIDA National Player of the Week and LSC Offensive Player of the Week in back-to-back weeks. She has scored all 18 of her points over the past nine games and is tied for 11th in the conference in scoring.
Freshman Firepower
Freshman
Braely Martinez comes into this week as the second leading scorer on the team with 10 points from four goals and two assists. Martinez has six games with 3+ shots and three mulit-shot on goal games as one of the conferences best freshmen.
Iron Woman Defender
Sophomore center back
Ryann Davis enters this week leading the team in minutes with 1562. Davis has played all 90 minutes in 14 games this season and has helped anchor a potent backline Lady Buff defense. In her two seasons, Davis has 26 games logging all 90 minutes in a match.
Back in the Dance
After clinching the six-seed, the Lady Buffs are back in the LSC Tournament for the first time since 2022, which was when they last made the NCAA Tournament. Over the past four seasons, WT has made instrumental progression as a program having finished 13th in the LSC standings in 2023 with one win, 11th in 2024, 10th in 2025, and 6th this past year.
West Texas A&M Statistical Leaders (Amount)
West Texas A&M Team Statistics (LSC Ranking)
- 14.43 shots per game (5th) | 6.89 shots on goal per game (5th)
- 3.17 points per game (9th) | 1.27 goals per game (9th) | .61 assists per game (10th)
- 1.11 goals allowed per game (7th) | 4.72 saves per game (7th)
- 9.50 fouls per game (14th) | 4.28 corner kicks per game (6th)
(All stats and standings accumulated 10/29/26)
Series History
Monday's game against Midwestern State game 56 between the Lady Buffs and Mustangs with the series tied 26-26-3. The teams faced off earlier in the year where WT came away with an upset victory.
Sims Tallies Another Hat Trick as Lady Buffs Upset No. 8 Midwestern State 3-1- October 7, 2026
The Lady Buffs offense wasted little time getting on the board for the second straight game as they scored in the 5th minute. With control in their attacking zone,
Charo Rodriguez Fortea delivered a great ball into the box as an opportunity presented itself.
Riley Sims made a great run on the backdoor and put her right foot on the ball before it landed. That shot snuck by the Mustangs keeper and into the back of the net for the early 1-0 Lady Buff lead. WT continued to pressure the MSU's defense with two shots (one on goal) and a corner kick through the next seven minutes. On the corner kick, the ball would land in the box and in a scramble, a Mustang put their hand on it for what looked to be a handball. That play would be reviewed minutes later and ultimately led to a penalty kick for the Lady Buffs. The hot foot in Sims, who had scored five goals in the past three games, stepped up for the momentous chance. The Harker Heights, Texas native went bottom left corner on her shot and doubled the lead for WT with her second goal. West Texas A&M did not let off the gas as they put goal number three on the board in the 17th minute. After a misplay by Midwestern State's keeper, a scrum occurred in the box between Sims and multiple Mustangs defenders. Sims would come out with possession of the ball and maneuvered her way around the defense deep in the box. With her left foot, she would rainbow a shot over two defenders as she threw her hat for the second straight game to give WT a 3-0 lead. The No. 8 team in the country did not go away without a fight as they scored a counterattack goal in the 26th minute to make it 3-1. The Lady Buffs would not be fazed and continued to apply offensive pressure to the end the half. That 3-1 lead would hold going into halftime.
Out of the break, the Lady Buffs defense, who had a solid first half, stepped up and continued to make plays with MSU applying more pressure. The backline would negate a plethora of opportunities with consistent clearances while any shot that got by would be denied by
Franciezca Blancaflor. Sims nearly found her fourth goal of the match in the 58th minute as one of her shots in the box went off the crossbar. WT's defense continued to thrive late in the game as they limited Midwestern State's offense to just two shots on goal in the final 27 minutes. Blancaflor was stellar saving both of those shots along with picking off and punching out crossing passes. With a great crowd behind them providing constant energy at The Pitch, West Texas A&M would knock off No. 8 Midwestern State by score of 3-1 in a signature win for the Lady Buffs.
Top Lady Buffs
- Riley Sims scored her fifth, sixth, and seventh goals of the season. She is up to 14 points to lead the team. Sims landed four of her five shots on goal in her 68 minutes. This was Sims' second straight game with a hat trick, the first player in the game-by-game era (2011+) to do so. She is the third player to record multiple hat tricks in a season in the game-by-game era as she joined All-Americans Maria-Frances Serrant (2022) and Hannah Kelley-Lusk (2021). The Harker Heights, Texas native became the fifth player in program history with multiple hat tricks in a career.
- Franciezca Blancaflor started in goal and compiled nine saves in all 90 minutes. This was Blancaflor's second game this season with 9+ saves.
- Charo Rodriguez Fortea tallied her first career point as a Lady Buff with an assist. She also played all 90 minutes for the third time this season.
Scouting Midwestern State
The Midwestern State University Mustangs come into this match holding 14-2-2 record and finished third in the conference with a 10-2-2 mark. The Mustangs are currently ranked No. 23 in the latest Intercollegiate Women's Soccer Organization Poll. Midwestern State is coming off a 2025 season where they went 11-3-6 with a 10-0-4 mark in the LSC as they finished second. They would reach the NCAA Tournament where they lost in the first round to UC-Colorado Springs. MSU was projected to finish second in the LSC Preseason Poll.
The offseason saw the Mustangs lose three of their seven All-Conference Honorees in Lillia Besedin (First Team), Nyxalee Munoz (First Team), and Mable Pruter (Second Team). Besedin scored eight goals to lead the team with 16 points. Munoz tallied 15 points with seven goals and an assist. Pruter compiled 10 points from a goal and eight assists. Both Besedin and Pruter were all named All South-Central Region.
Returning for MSU will be four All-LSC Players in Bella Rose (Second Team), Morgan Countryman (Third Team), Lauren Short (Third Team), and Sloane Sullivan (Third Team). Rose led the team in minutes with 1773 and scored two goals for four points. Countryman notched seven points from two goals and three assists. Short started 10 games in goal and made 23 saves with a 0.83 goals allowed average. Sullivan was third in minutes with 1677 on defense and had three assists.
Head Coach Ryan Spence enters his eighth season with Midwestern State in 2026. Spence has tallied a 75-61-29 record in his tenure and guided MSU to three NCAA Tournament appearances.
Midwestern State Statistical Leaders (Amount)
- Points- Lexi Gonzales (19)
- Goals- Lexi Gonzales, Madison Brinkley, & Sloane Sullivan (6)
- Assists- Lexi Gonzalez (6)
- Game-Winning Goals- Lexi Gonzales & Madison Brinkley (3)
- Shots on Goal- Sloane Sullivan (19)
- Shots- Lexi Gonzales & Sloane Sullivan (42)
- Minutes by a Field Player- Bella Rose (1565)
- 90 Minute Games by a Field Player- Bella Rose (16)
- Saves- Lauren Short (37)
- Save Percentage- Lauren Short (78.7%)
- Goals Allowed Average- Lauren Short (0.58)
- Goalkeeper Wins- Lauren Short (14)
- Shutouts- Lauren Short (12)
Midwestern State Team Statistics (LSC Ranking)
- 19.39 shots per game (2nd) | 7.17 shots on goal per game (4th)
- 7.17 points per game (2nd) | 2.33 goals per game (2nd) | 2.50 assists per game (2nd)
- 0.56 goals allowed per game (3rd) | 2.06 saves per game (14th)
- 8.78 fouls per game (10th) | 6.44 corner kicks per game (2nd)
The winner of this game will move on to the Semifinals to take on either No. 21 Texas Woman's or UT Dallas in Dallas, Texas. Semifinal games are set for Thursday, November 5. Time is TBD
For all the latest on West Texas A&M Women's Soccer, stay tuned to
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