TAMUC – Sports

 

No. 9 Lions look to rebound against Lock Haven (Notes Attached)

COMMERCE – The No. 9 Texas A&M University-Commerce football team hosts an unfamiliar foe this week, as Lock Haven University’s Bald Eagles pay a visit on Hall of Fame and Former Letterwinners’ Day.

WHO: Lock Haven University at Texas A&M University-Commerce
WHERE: Commerce | Ernest Hawkins Field at Memorial Stadium
WHEN: 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 29
RECORDS: The Lions are 3-1 overall and 2-0 in the Lone Star Conference. Lock Haven is 1-3 overall and 1-0 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference’s East Division.
RANKINGS: Texas A&M-Commerce is ranked No. 9 in the AFCA Coaches’ Poll and No. 14 in the D2Football.com Media Poll. Lock Haven is unranked.

LIVE AUDIO: Lion Sports Network — KETR 88.9 FM, Commerce (http://www.ketr.org)
LIVE VIDEO: http://LionAthletics.com/Live
LIVE STATS: http://statbroadcast.com/events/statmonitr.php?gid=tame
TICKETS: Available in the Lion Sales and Service Box Office in the Field House from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, by calling (903) 468-8756, or visiting http://WeAreLionsTix.com

TIME TO REBOUND
• The loss against CSU-Pueblo was only the Lions’ ninth regular season loss to a Division II opponent in the six seasons under head coach Colby Carthel. Four of those came in the first season of his tenure.
• The 10-point margin of defeat is the largest against a Division II opponent in the regular season since Week Three of the 2013 season.
• That loss to West Texas A&M was followed by a six-point loss to Midwestern State. That is the last time the Lions have lost consecutive regular season games.
• The Lions have not lost to an unranked opponent since 2014.
• Over the last four seasons, in a game following a regular-season Division II loss, the Lions have won by an average of 40.25 points.

ALL-TIME AGAINST THE BALD EAGLES
• This is the first-ever meeting between these two schools in football.
• The Lions have never played a PSAC team in football.
• The Lion women’s basketball team played Lock Haven in the season opener of the 2006-07 season, winning 65-50 in Orlando, Fla. The Lions would advance to the Elite Eight that season. From that team, Kanani Marshal is being inducted into the Lion Athletics Hall of Fame today.
• The only other contest between the Lions and a team from the Keystone State came in 1954 when the ET men’s basketball team took a 79-52 win over Geneva College from Beaver Falls in the NAIA Tournament Round of 16 in Kansas City. Hall of Famers Jim Miller, Clarence Lynch, and Shelby Metcalf were the leaders of that Lion squad.

NIFTY FIFTY
• Head coach Colby Carthel now ranks fifth in A&M-Commerce history in coaching wins with 52 wins.
• He is now only 11 wins behind Lion and LSC legend J.V. Sikes, who sits in fourth place with 63 wins.

1	Ernest Hawkins	1964-85	132-92-6
2	Eddie Vowell	1986-98	74-71-1
3	Bob Berry	1935-41, 46-50	72-34-8
4	J.V. Sikes	1954-63	63-34-4
5	Colby Carthel	2013-pres.	52-16
6	M.A. Smith	1951-53	30-2-1

SENIORS ON PACE TO SET SCHOOL RECORD
• The 2017 senior class established the school record for wins in a four-year period with the victory in the National Championship Game with 42 games won in a four-year span.
• The 2018 seniors now rank third in school history at 36-8 with a guarantee of eight more games in the season. The 1951-54 seniors also won 36 games but had fewer losses than this year’s group.

Years	Record
2014-17	42-10
1951-54	36-5-2
2015-18	36-8
2013-16	35-14
1957-60	34-7
1972-75	32-13-1
1936-39	31-8
1990-93	31-16-1

MARTINEZ CONTINUES TO CLIMB SCORING CHARTS
• Kicker Kristov Martinez scored seven points vs. Pueblo, with two field goals and a PAT.
• The graduate student from Edinburg is now 5-for-7 on field goal attempts and 11-for-11 on PAT attempts in 2018,
• He is now 59-of-78 on field goal attempts in his career, which is tied for 10th in Division II history. The Division II career record is 82 made field goals.
• West Texas A&M’s Sergio Castillo has the LSC record with 62 field goals.
• Martinez is the Division II active career leader in made field goals and is tied for third in all NCAA divisions behind LSU’s Cole Tracy (77) and Wisconsin’s Rafael Gaglianone (63). He is tied with Toledo’s Jameson Vest (59).
• LSU’s Tracy is actually a Division II transfer from Assumption (Mass.), where he won the Fred Mitchell Award in 2017.
• Martinez is on the preseason watch list for the Mitchell Award.
• For his career, Martinez has made 187-of-194 PAT attempts and is the Division II active career leader. Oklahoma’s Austin Seibert is the all divisions active career leader with 246 made PATs. Martinez is fourth in all divisions behind Seibert, Ohio State’s Sean Nuernberger (206), and North Dakota State’s Cam Pederson (196). Toledo’s Jameson Vest is tied with Martinez.
• In terms of overall scoring, Martinez (364 points) is chasing Castillo (437 points), and former Harlon Hill winner at Texas A&I Johnny Bailey (426 points) for the all-time LSC scoring record.

HARRIS AWARD NOMINEE IS TOP TACKLER
• The Lions’ leading tackler in senior Brucks Saathoff also leads the Lone Star Conference.
• The San Antonio native is averaging 12.0 tackles per game through four contests.
• This ranks ninth nationally and he is tied with Angelo State’s Grant Ashenbeck for the LSC lead.
• In 2017, Saathoff was the Lion leader with 101 tackles, averaging 6.7 stops per game.
• For his career, Saathoff has 257 tackles, which is the leading mark for the Lions.

NEEMA’S NEW CAREER HIGH
• Neema Behbahani had a career game in the loss to CSU-Pueblo, notching his most tackles in a single game in his career.
• The Plano Senior High product had 15 tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss.
• For the season, the junior has tied for the second-most tackles on the squad, making 27 stops with 3.5 tackles for loss and a fumble recovery.
• He is one of three linebackers averaging over five tackles per game.

“BIG MIKE” BEHIND THE LINE
• Michael Onuoha (pronounced uh-no-ha) has been a menace in the backfield.
• The senior from Edmond, Okla., ranks eighth nationally in sacks per game, averaging 1.38 sacks per contest. He has 5.5 sacks for losses of 30 yards through four games.
• His sack against CSU-Pueblo was also a forced fumble, recovered by Saathoff.
• He is 13th nationally in tackles for loss, with 8.5 tackles for losses of 40 yards.
• Prior to the season, Onuoha received an honorable mention All-American and second team all-region pick by Don Hansen’s Football Gazette. He was also a first-team all-Lone Star Conference pick.
• “Big Mike” ranked seventh in the LSC with 12 tackles for loss and recorded 56 tackles in the 2017 season.

HALE’S HUNDRED HITS A THOUSAND
• Lion running back Carandal Hale ran for 101 yards in the win at Eastern New Mexico and capped that night with a 32-yard touchdown carry.
• With his performance in Portales, the sophomore from Greenville rolled his career odometer over the 1,000-yard mark,
• He enters the Lock Haven game with 1,047 career yards
• Hale is the 37th Lion back to roll past 1,000 career rushing yards.
• He is the third Lion running back to go over 1,000 yards in the Carthel era, joining Richard Cooper (3,174 yards from 2013-16) and Theo Wofford (1,306 yards from 2014-15).
• Only seven Lions have gone over 2,000 yards in their careers.

MARQUIS MEETS MILESTONE MARK
• Senior wide receiver Marquis Wimberly achieved a milestone in the CSU-Pueblo game,
• With his final catch of that game, he now has 83 career receptions for exactly 1,000 yards.
• Senior tight end Vincent Hobbs is the other Lion receiver trending towards 100 career receptions.
• He has 89 receptions for 1,083 yards, putting him 11 catches away from 100.
• At this point in program history, 14 Lion receivers have had 100 career receptions.
• Of those 14, four have played under Colby Carthel.

RAMSEY’S RETURNS REAP REWARDS
• Sophomore, return man and defensive back, Dominique Ramsey is the Lone Star Conference’s Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance in the CSU-Pueblo game.
• The Converse Judson product scored the opening touchdown of the game for the Lions in Saturday’s game against CSU-Pueblo with a 72-yard punt return for a score in the first quarter.
• He had five punt returns for 106 yards for a 21.2 yards per return average, and also had an 18-yard kickoff return.
• On defense, he was in on five tackles and had a pass breakup.
• Ramsey ranks in the top 25 nationally this season with a 14.5 yard per punt return average and is one of only two players in the LSC with a punt return for a score this year.

HOT START ON DEFENSE
• The Lions have not allowed their opponents to score in the first quarter of a game this season.
• A&M-Commerce has a 38-0 advantage over its opponents in the first quarter.

TAKE THAT AND LIKE IT
• The Lion kicking game has been spectacular as A&M-Commerce ranks fourth nationally in both kickoff return defense and punt return defense, and 11th nationally in net punting.
• Of the Lions’ 22 punts this season, not a single one has had a return attempted by the opponent. Eight have been downed inside the opponent’s 20-yard line, five have been fair caught, and four have traveled over 50 yards.
• The Lions average an even 40 yards net per punt.
• Lion opposition has averaged only 12.0 yards per kickoff return.

 

 

Volleyball jumps to No. 21 in latest AVCA Coaches’ Poll

COMMERCE– The Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team is the 21st ranked team in the latest coaches’ poll released by the American Volleyball Coaches’ Association. The Lions moved up four spots from last week’s rankings. It is the fourth week in a row the Lions have been nationally ranked.

The Lions went 3-0 last week in their homestand. They defeated Dallas Baptist in four sets on Tuesday before sweeping conference foes Cameron and MSU Texas.

The Lions are one of two teams from the Lone Star Conference in this week’s AVCA rankings. Tarleton State is ranked 19th. The Lions have faced five teams in the current top-25 rankings and have a record of 4-1 against top-25 ranked teams so far this season.

The No. 21 Lions will hit the road this week for two more LSC matchups. A&M-Commerce will face UT Permian Basin in Odessa on Friday at 5:00 pm. They will then travel to Silver City to face Western New Mexico on Saturday at 6:00 pm MDT. The Lions return to the Field House on Oct. 5 against West Texas A&M.

2018 AVCA Division II Top-25 Coaches Poll – Sept . 24 (Week 5) 

Rk.	Team (First Place)	Pts.	Record	Prev.
1	Concordia-St. Paul (42)	1191	13-2	2
2	Cal State San Bernardino (3)	1101	13-1	5
3	Northern State (1)	1036	14-1	1
4	Nebraska-Kearney (1)	1019	16-1	6
5	Minnesota Duluth	891	12-3	9
6	Ferris State	862	12-3	7
7	Western Washington	850	11-3	8
8	Tampa	833	13-1	12
9	Palm Beach Atlantic	798	14-1	3
10	Drury	752	12-2	14
11	Lewis	721	12-3	4
12	Southwest Minnesota State	673	10-5	10
13	Washburn	601	17-0	21
14	Rockhurst	586	14-2	11
15	West Florida	523	13-4	15
16	Cal State L.A. (1)	493	12-0	17
17	Central Missouri	425	12-4	13
18	Central Oklahoma	384	16-3	16
19	Tarleton State	359	13-2	20
20	Wheeling Jesuit	299	13-3	19
21	A&M-COMMERCE	180	12-4	25
	Gannon	180	14-1	22
23	Colorado School of Mines	155	13-2	24
24	Regis	140	10-5	23
25	Cal Poly Pomona	113	13-1	NR

 

 

Lions stay in top 10 of AFCA Coaches’ Poll at No. 9

WACO – The Texas A&M University-Commerce football team is ranked No. 9 in this week’s 2018 American Football Coaches Association Division II Coaches’ Poll, as announced by the AFCA on Monday morning.

The Lions fell to 3-1 overall on the season with a 23-13 loss to Colorado State-Pueblo on Saturday. Dominique Ramsey had a 72-yard punt return for a touchdown, Kristov Martinez made a pair of field goals, and Neema Behbahani had 15 tackles.

Three Lion opponents for 2018 are in the top 25. MSU Texas is ranked No. 5, Colorado State-Pueblo is ranked No. 16, and Tarleton is now in the rankings at No. 25.

A&M-Commerce has been ranked in 44 consecutive AFCA polls, dating back to the 2015 preseason poll. This is A&M-Commerce’s 50th all-time appearance in the AFCA poll since its inception in 2000.

In the polls recognized by Division II as the top rating system, the Lions have been recognized as a nationally ranked team 99 times since joining Division II in 1981. This is the Lions’ 11th straight appearance in the top 10, and the Lions have been in the top 10 for 30 of the last 31 polls.

A&M-Commerce stays home this week for Hall of Fame and Former Letterwinners’ Day against Lock Haven at 6 p.m. this Saturday, September 29. Tickets are available by visiting WeAreLionsTix.com, calling (903) 468-8756, or visiting the Lion Sales & Service Box Office in the Field House.

2018 American Football Coaches Association Division II Coaches’ Poll
September 24, 2018

Rank	School (1st votes)	Rec.	Pts.	Prev.
1.	Minnesota St. (26)	4-0	811	2
2.	Indiana (Pa.) (5)	4-0	761	3
3.	Grand Valley St. (Mich.)	4-0	746	5
4.	Ferris St. (Mich.) (2)	4-0	734	6
5.	MSU Texas	4-0	706	7
6.	West Georgia	4-0	656	8
7.	Ouachita Baptist (Ark.)	4-0	593	9
8.	Minnesota-Duluth	4-0	526	11
9.	A&M-COMMERCE	3-1	444	1
10.	Pittsburg St. (Kan.)	4-0	442	15
11.	West Florida	3-1	433	10
12.	West Chester (Pa.)	4-0	430	13
13.	Valdosta St. (Ga.)	4-0	421	16
14.	Central Washington	3-1	397	12
	Colorado School of Mines	4-0	397	17
16.	Colorado St.-Pueblo	3-1	382	22
17.	Northwest Missouri St.	3-1	331	4
18.	Fort Hays St. (Kan.)	3-1	267	18
19.	Southern Arkansas	4-0	250	21
20.	Harding (Ark.)	3-1	223	19t
21.	West Alabama	3-1	134	23
22.	Indianapolis (Ind.)	2-1	105	25
23.	Notre Dame (Ohio)	4-0	99	NR
24.	Colorado Mesa	3-1	89	14
25.	Tarleton	3-0	80	NR

Dropped Out: Central Missouri (19t), Azusa Pacific (Calif.) (24)

Others Receiving Votes: Azusa Pacific (Calif.), 69; Sioux Falls (S.D.), 54; Ohio Dominican, 36; Kutztown (Pa.), 30; Ashland (Ohio), 17; Hillsdale (Mich.), 11; Charleston (W.Va.), 10; Tiffin (Ohio), 9; Chadron St. (Neb.), 7; Florida Tech, 7; Washburn (Kan.), 5; Central Missouri, 4; LIU-Post (N.Y.), 4; Bowie St. (Md.), 2; Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.), 1; New Haven (Conn.), 1; Saginaw Valley St. (Mich.), 1.

 

 

Ramsey named LSC Special Teams Player of the Week

RICHARDSON – Texas A&M University-Commerce redshirt sophomore Dominique Ramsey has been named the Lone Star Conference Special Teams Player of the Week, as announced by the league office Monday.

Ramsey (Converse Judson) scored the opening touchdown of the game for the Lions in Saturday’s game against CSU-Pueblo with a 72-yard punt return for a score in the first quarter. He had five punt returns for 106 yards for a 21.2 yards per return average, and also had an 18-yard kickoff return. On defense, he was in on five tackles and had a pass breakup.

Ramsey ranks in the top 25 nationally this season with a 14.5 yard per punt return average and is one of only two players in the LSC with a punt return for a score this year.

Ramsey and the No. 9 Lions will host Lock Haven this Saturday, September 29. Kickoff on Hall of Fame and Former Letterwinners’ Day is set for 6:00 pm.

 

 

Soccer falls 3-0 on the road against No. 25 West Texas A&M

CANYON– The Texas A&M University-Commerce soccer team dropped a 3-0 road match to No. 25 West Texas A&M on Sunday.

The loss brings the Lions to 3-3-0 on the season and 0-2-0 in the Lone Star Conference. The Lady Buffs improved to 7-1-0 and 2-0-0 in conference play.

The Lions return home on Friday to host UT Permian Basin. The match will be played at 7:00 pm at the Lion Soccer Field.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

– WT outshot the Lions 21-8 in the match. The Lions had three shots on goal while WT had 11.
– Sabrina Munguia (Baytown – Lee) had two shots on goal. Cora Welch (Plano) also had a shot on goal.
– Caitlin Duty (Crandall) made eight saves in the match.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Duty made an early save in the fourth minute before the Lions held the ball in the WT zone for several minutes. WT’s defense held firm, however, Welch found space for a shot, but it was saved.

The Lady Buffs found space in the 16th minute and again in the 17th minute but Duty was there to save both shots. The second shot was a diving save for Duty to keep the match scoreless. WT forced several corner kicks in the next several minutes but were unable to capitalize on any of them as the Lion defense sent each kick away.

The Lady Buffs scored in the 28th minute. After a yellow card against the Lions allowed a free kick just outside of the penalty box, Emily Avila shot the ball into the right side of the net. WT held a 1-0 lead.

The Lions forced a corner and had a header in the 31st minute that was wide of the net. The Lions had several shots blocked in the late stages of the half. Duty made two saves late in the half. WT took a 1-0 lead into halftime.

Duty made an early save in the second half. The teams switched possessions early before WT again went on the offensive. Duty made consecutive saves in the 70th minute. Her second save landed at the feet of a WT attacker, who shot the ball back into the net. WT took a 2-0 lead.

WT scored again in the 76th minute on a penalty kick. Munguia had two shots on goal late in the match, but both were saved.

 

 

No. 1 Lions see an early lead slip away in 23-13 loss to No. 22 CSU-Pueblo.

COMMERCE – The top-ranked Texas A&M University-Commerce football team held an early lead, but fell victim to turnovers in a 23-13 loss to No. 22 Colorado State University-Pueblo at Ernest Hawkins Field at Memorial Stadium on Saturday evening.

With the loss, the Lions fall to 3-1 on the season, while CSU-Pueblo also has a 3-1 season mark. The defeat snaps a 13-game winning streak for A&M-Commerce.

The Lions will look to rebound at home on Saturday, September 29, against Lock Haven. Kickoff on Hall of Fame and Former Letterwinners’ Day is set for 6 p.m. Tickets are available by visiting WeAreLionsTix.com, calling (903) 468-8756, or visiting the Lion Sales & Service Box Office in the Field House.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

– Persistent rainy conditions hampered both teams’ offensive efforts, as there were only 24 combined first downs in the game.
– A&M-Commerce turned the ball over five times with four lost fumbles and an interception. On the opposite side, Colorado State-Pueblo only lost the ball once.
– Dominique Ramsey (Converse – Judson) had a 72-yard punt return for a touchdown to open the day’s scoring in the first quarter. He would finish with five punt returns for 106 yards, a 19-yard kickoff return, and four tackles.
– Kristov Martinez (Edinburg) connected on field goals of 25 and 32 yards.
– Neema Behbahani (Plano) and Pierre Leonard (Tyler – John Tyler) tied for the team lead with 10 tackles, and Behbahani had three tackles for loss.
– Mark Westbrook (Schertz – Clemens) had nine solo tackles and two pass breakups, while Brucks Saathoff (San Antonio – Reagan) had eight stops and a fumble recovery.
– E.J. Thompson (Cypress – Cy Ranch) was the Lions’ top rusher with 14 carries for 47 yards.
– Kane Wilson (New Orleans, La.) completed 7-of-15 passes for 108 yards.
– Tristan Perry (Mineral Wells) averaged 43.6 yards on five punts with a long of 60 yards.

HOW IT HAPPENED

In rather predictable fashion with such damp conditions, both teams had issues getting first downs early, as the first five drives of the games ended in punts and drives of less than three and a half minutes.

Ramsey took advantage of CSU-Pueblo’s third punt of the game, scampering 72 yards on the return for the touchdown to give the Lions a 7-0 lead with 5:18 left in the first quarter.

After another ThunderWolves punt on the next drive, the Lions capitalized with Martinez’ 25-yard field goal to go up 10-0 with 1:26 left in the first quarter. The score was set up by a 42-yard completion from Wilson to Ryan Stokes (St. Louis, Mo.) on second-and-8 from the Lions’ own 43-yard line.

The ThunderWolves got on the board with their first drive of the second quarter. A pass interference penalty and long run put CSU-Pueblo in Lion territory before the drive stalled out just outside the red zone. Mitchell Carter made a 38-yard field goal with 8:45 left in the half to make it a 10-3 game.

CSU-Pueblo snagged an interception on a tipped ball with 3:13 left in the second quarter and assembled the first sustained drive for either team. Two third-down conversions helped the visitors down the field, but the Lion defense buckled down inside the 10 and held CSU-Pueblo to a 20-yard field goal. The Lions would take a 10-6 lead into the halftime break.

The Lions fumbled away the return of the kickoff to start the second half but escaped true damage as the ThunderWolves missed a 41-yard field goal attempt. Another Lion drive stalled and a fumbled snap allowed CSU-Pueblo to recover the ball deep in Lion territory. Three plays later, Austin Micci scored the first offensive touchdown of the night to give the ThunderWolves their first lead at 13-10 with 9:16 left in the third quarter.

Yet another kickoff return was fumbled away on the ensuing action, but the Lion defense once again limited their foes to a field goal, and the score was 16-10 with 7:22 left in the third quarter.

Michael Onuoha (Edmond, Okla.) stripped the CSU-Pueblo quarterback of the ball two drives later and Saathoff recovered the ball at the visitors’ 31-yard line, but the offense was unable to capitalize.

The Lion offense put together a solid drive in the late stages of the third quarter and spanning into the fourth. Wilson had three completions of over 10 yards to move the chains, but A&M-Commerce had to settle for Martinez’ 32-yard field goal, cutting the lead to 16-13 with 12:39 to play.

Martinez then perfectly executed an onside kick, energizing the Lion sideline and crowd. Two incomplete passes on close plays forced a punt opportunity, but a wayward snap allowed the ThunderWolves to start the drive at the Lion 27-yard line.

Six plays later, Marcus Lindsay punched the ball in for a touchdown from four yards out on fourth down, making it a 23-13 contest with 8:14 on the clock.

The Lions fumbled the ball away, but the defense bowed up again and forced a punt opportunity, but the ThunderWolves executed a fake that would help an extra two minutes run off the clock before the Lions could regain possession. From there, A&M-Commerce was unable to move the ball downfield and score, and CSU-Pueblo was able to kneel out the clock.

 

 

No. 25 Lions close homestand with a sweep of MSU Texas.

COMMERCE – The No. 25 Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team closed a five-match homestand with a sweep of MSU Texas, as the Lions earned their fifth straight victory. Set scores were 25-19, 25-20, and 25-20.

With the win, the Lions are now 12-4 overall and 4-2 in the Lone Star Conference, while the Mustangs fall to 2-12 overall and 0-6 in league play. The Lions have won 18 consecutive matches in the Field House, dating back to 2016.

A&M-Commerce will head west for an LSC road swing next weekend, taking on UT Permian Basin at 5 p.m. Friday in Odessa, then playing at 6:00 p.m. MDT on Saturday, September 29, against Western New Mexico.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
– The Lion offense was powerful once again, out-hitting MSU Texas by a .296 to .098 margin. The Lions had 45 kills to the Mustangs’ 30.
– Jaryn Wacker (Austin – Vista Ridge) had 12 kills on only 21 swings with a .429 hitting percentage.
– Shelley Chapron (Houston – St. Pius X) has a power at the net with eight blocks and seven kills.
– Celeste Vela (Guadalajara, Mexico) had another excellent all-around performance, putting down nine kills, passing out 16 assists, earning five digs, and chipping in on two blocks.
– Carolina Machado (Sao Paulo, Brazil) passed out 21 assists and Riley Davidson (Commerce) had a match-high 11 digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The opening set took a few points to develop as neither side was able to pull ahead early. The Lions were leading 10-9 before surging for seven of the next eight points. Chapron was on serve as the Lions forced a Mustang timeout at 17-10. MSU Texas was unable to recover during the set, as the A&M-Commerce lead never got below five points. The Lions hit .286 in the set and Jaryn Wacker had five error-free kills in the frame.

Midwestern led for the early stretches of the second set, but the Lions eliminated an early four-point deficit with a big run in the middle of the set. A&M-Commerce scored six out of seven points to flip the frame into the Lions’ favor at 15-11. The Lions extended the lead to as many as six before MSU Texas narrowed the deficit to 23-20. Bina Njikam (Keller) and Vela closed out the set with consecutive kills to snuff the MSU rally. The Lions hit .235 in the set, as Jaslyn Wacker had four errorless kills and the Lions put up four blocks.

The Lions took that momentum and jumped out to an early lead in the clinching set. A&M-Commerce scored the first four points of the set and never trailed. The lead never shrank below three points, even during a late Mustang run, and Vela hammered home a kill to close the Lions’ second straight LSC sweep. The Lions hit a fantastic .379 in the set, with Vela and Jaryn Wacker each throwing down five kills without an error.

 

 

Lions’ top finishers improve at Chile Pepper Festival.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Texas A&M University-Commerce cross country teams saw improvements from their top finishers at the Chile Pepper Festival at Agri Park on Saturday morning.

The Lion men finished in 26th place with 782 points, well ahead of a number of Division II teams and a few Division I squads.

Sergio Marcuello (Cuenca, Spain) improved his time on the 8-kilometer course by nearly a full minute, placing 112th with a time of 26:34.8. Evan Luecke (Forney, Texas) also ran faster than his previous race, placing 178th at 27:18.6.

Edwin Aparicio (Katy – Cy Springs) finished the course in 27:21.9 to place 183rd, Garvin Chilton (Katy) knocked a few seconds off of his time from Missouri Southern with a 27:48.4 finish for 208th place and Sage Breed (Sachse) placed 215th at 27:52.7.

The Lion women placed 39th in the 5-kilometer race, with an average time of 21:15.2.

Brandi Stalder (Sanger) was the Lions’ top finisher at 19:01.6, cutting half a minute from her season-opening time to place 86th.

Maddie Shubert (Rowlett) improved by nearly a minute and a half from the opener, placing 249th with a time of 21:04.5. Mikayla Maldonado (Irving – Nimitz) placed 276th at 21:19.4, Taylor Jones (Garland, South Garland) placed 281st at 21:24.1, and Mallory Morgan (Katy) rounded out team scorers in 372nd at 23:28.0.

The Lions have three weeks to continue and improve their times, as they are next in action on Friday, October 12, when they host the rescheduled East Texas Shootout at Centennial Park in Commerce.

 

 

Lions drop 2-0 decision to Eastern New Mexico on the road.

PORTALES, N.M.– The Texas A&M University-Commerce soccer team lost a 2-0 decision against Eastern New Mexico on the road Friday. The Lions fell behind midway through the first half and could not bounce back.

The loss brings the Lions to 3-2-0 for the season and-0-1-0 in the Lone Star Conference. ENMU improves to 3-2-1 on the year and 1-0-0 in conference play.

The Lions return to action on the road against West Texas A&M on Sunday. The match will begin at 1:00 pm at The Pitch in Canyon.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
– Sabrina Munguia had a shot on goal and had another shot go off the crossbar in the match.
– Leslie Campuzano and Michelle Kotlik also had shots on goal.
– Caitlin Duty had two saves in the match.
– Both teams took nine shots in the match.
The Lions scored an own-goal in the 25th minute of the match off of a scramble on an ENMU corner kick. ENMU also scored a goal in the 81st minute.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lions had an early chance for a goal as Munguia found some room to fire a shot in the ninth minute. However, the shot went off the crossbar. Duty made a save in the 15th minute to keep the Greyhounds off the board.

On a Greyhound corner kick in the 25th minute, the ball found its way into the box. It was kicked away by the Lions but the ball ricocheted off of a Lion player’s back and bounced backward into the goal for an own goal. The Greyhounds took a 1-0 lead.

Campuzano had a shot on goal late in the first half but it was saved. ENMU took a 1-0 lead into halftime.

Munguia had another shot on goal in the 51st minute of the match, but it was again saved by the ENMU keeper. The Lions forced several corner kicks in the early stages of the second half but could not find an opportunity to put a shot on goal. Twice the Lions had shots but pushed them just wide each time.

ENMU added to its lead in the 81st minute with a goal. Duty then made a save in the 83rd minute. The Lions had a chance for a goal in the final minute of the match but Kotlik’s shot was saved. The match ended with ENMU ahead 2-0.

 

 

No. 25 Lions sweep Cameron to keep the home streak rolling.

COMMERCE – The No. 25 Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team rolled to a sweep over visiting Cameron University on Friday night. Set scores were 25-10, 25-21, and 25-14.

With the win, the Lions move to 11-4 overall and 3-2 in the Lone Star Conference, while the Aggies fall to 2-13 overall and 0-5 in the league.

The Lions wrap up a five-match homestand at 2:00 pm Saturday, hosting MSU Texas in an important LSC match.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
– With the runaway victory, no Lion had double-figure kills, though the hosts hit for a .194 percentage and held Cameron to a minus-.027 percentage.
– Jaryn Wacker (Austin – Vista Ridge) led the Lions with nine kills on a .353 percentage.
– Shelley Chapron (Houston – St. Pius X) had six error-free kills on nine swings for a .667 hitting percentage, while also chipping in on four blocks.
– Celeste Vela (Guadalajara, Mexico) had eight kills, six digs, three blocks, and two service aces for another solid all-around performance.
– Jaslyn Wacker (Austin – Vista Ridge) had seven kills against only one error.
– Savannah Rutledge (The Woodlands – College Park) led the Lions with seven digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Cameron opened the night by scoring the first three points of the match before the Lions responded with a fury. A&M-Commerce scored 15 of the next 17 points to roar out to a 15-5 lead. From there, the Aggies were unable to string together consecutive points, as the Lions took an emphatic one-set lead. The Lions had 13 kills in the set on a .333 hitting percentage while limiting CU to a minus-.143 clip with only four kills.

The second set was more closely contested, as the margin was only one point when the Lions led 11-10. A&M-Commerce was able to put a strong run together at that point, pushing the gap to 17-11 and forcing an Aggie timeout. Cameron chipped away at the lead, eventually cutting the advantage down to 23-21, but the Lions scored the final two points on a Jaryn Wacker hammered kill and a Rutledge ace. Cameron had five blocks in the set, but the Lions limited the Aggies to an even .000 hitting rate with four blocks of their own.

A&M-Commerce scored the first four points of the third set before the Aggies tied it back up at 5-all. The Lions managed points on seven of the next eight serves to go up 12-6. While Cameron battled, the guests were unable to get the margin back under six points. From a 20-14 score, the Lions scored the final five points of the match to earn their fourth straight win.

 

Josh Manck

Associate Athletics Director for Marketing and Communications | Texas A&M University-Commerce