Lions fall 1-0 against St. Edward’s on the road.

AUSTIN– The Texas A&M University-Commerce soccer team fell 1-0 to St. Edward’s on Saturday afternoon. The Lions fell behind in the first half and could not find the goal they needed to extend the play. 

The loss brings the Lions to 7-6-1 on the season and 4-5-0 in the Lone Star Conference. The Hilltoppers improved to 10-4-1 on the year and 9-0-1 in conference play. 

The Lions return home to play their final two home matches of the regular season. They host St. Mary’s on Thursday at 7 p.m. and Texas A&M International on Saturday at Noon. Both games will play at the Lion Soccer Field. 

You can purchase tickets to Lion Soccer home games by visiting WeAreLionsTix.com, by calling (903) 468-8756, by visiting the Lion Sales & Service Box Office inside the Field House during business hours, or at the gates of the Lion Soccer Field. 

HEAD COACH NEIL PIPER AFTER THE GAME

– Thoughts on the game: “It was a tough game for us. We were really never in it. We did well to keep the score close. We just could never get anything going forward.”

– On the struggles: “It was a combination of St. Edward’s playing really well and us not having any legs after our Angelo State game.” 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

– Jen Peters (Allen) made six saves in the match.

– Leslie Campuzano (Garland – Lakeview Centennial) had two shots while Jocelyn McDonough (McKinney – Boyd) had one.

– The Lions were outshot 17-3 in the match and held without a shot on goal. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

Peters made an early save in the second minute at SEU had a quick opportunity to open the game. The Hilltoppers held the ball in their zone for much of the early going. They forced a pair of corner kicks as well as multiple shots that were blocked by the Lion defense. 

SEU was able to net its goal in the 20th minute. After Peters was able to make a save, the rebound fell at the feet of a Hilltopper. They were able to put the ball into the net. 

After the Lions had a shot that was wide of the net, the Hilltoppers held possession for nearly the rest of the half. Peters made two more saves in half, and the Lions kept the game a one-score contest headed into halftime. 

They held the Lions without a shot for the first 35 minutes of the second half. The Hilltoppers again controlled the ball for most of the half. Peters made a pair of saves to keep the game within reach, but the Lions were unable to get into position to tie the match.

No. 23 Lions roll to 62-21 Homecoming win over Western N.M.

COMMERCE – The No. 23 Texas A&M University-Commerce football team thrilled the Homecoming crowd with a 62-21 rout of Western New Mexico University at Ernest Hawkins Field at Memorial Stadium on Saturday. 

With the win, the Lions move to 6-2 overall and 4-1 in the Lone Star Conference, winning on Homecoming weekend for the sixth straight season. The Mustangs fall to 1-7 overall and 1-4 in league play. 

The Lions are on the road next week for a 4:00 pm kickoff on Saturday, November 2, at West Texas A&M on ESPN3 in the NCAA Division II Football Showcase game. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

– The Lions had 30 first downs and 562 yards of offense, averaging 8.1 yards per play.

– Miklo Smalls (Plano – East) completed 18-of-28 passes for 282 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions

– Antonio Lealiiee (Copperas Cove) scored two of the Lions’ five rushing touchdowns, carrying the ball 17 times for 133 yards. Chris McPhaul (Frisco – Liberty), Jemal Williams (Inglewood, Calif.), and Jaquorious Smith (Kilgore) each had a rushing touchdown.

– Ryan Stokes (St. Louis, Mo.) had five receptions for 110 yards and two touchdowns. Jemal Williams also had a 36-yard receiving touchdown.

– Dominique Ramsey (Converse – Judson) electrified the crowd with a 91-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. He now has six return touchdowns in his career with his first of the kickoff variety.

– Sammy Gray (Elk Grove, Calif.) led the Lions with six tackles. Elijah Earls (San Antonio – Stevens), Neema Behbahani (Plano), Dayne Douglass (Canyon), Chris Williams (Atlanta, Ga.), Pierre Leonard (Tyler – John Tyler), Tali Amosa (Melbourne, Australia), and Jalon Edwards-Cooper (Spring – Dekaney) were all in on sacks.

– The Lions’ string of made PATs dating back to the second game of the 2017 season was snapped at 129 in the first quarter when a PAT attempt hit the right upright after Ramsey’s return.

CLICK HERE FOR THOUGHTS FROM HEAD COACH DAVID BAILIFF AFTER THE GAME. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Lions forced the Mustangs to punt on the game’s opening drive and immediately went to work to move the ball downfield. A seven-play, 76-yard drive, was capped at the 9:44 mark of the first quarter when Smalls connected with Stokes for a 21-yard touchdown strike. 

Western New Mexico intercepted a Smalls pass to set up a four-play scoring drive to tie the game at the 2:48 mark of the first quarter, but Ramsey nearly immediately unknotted the score with his weaving 91-yard kickoff return for a score to put A&M-Commerce had 13-7 with 2:30 left in the quarter. 

On the third play of the second quarter, Smalls found Jemal Williams leaking out of the backfield, and the converted linebacker scampered 36 yards for a touchdown, extending the lead to 20-7 with 14:21 left in the half. That lead was pushed to 27-7 with 6:58 to play in the half when Lealiiee finished off an 11-play, 76-yard drive with a 5-yard touchdown plunge. 

The Mustangs strung together a long drive to end the half and were threatening to score, but Edwards-Cooper blocked a field goal attempt and the score stayed at 27-7 to end the half. 

Smalls was perfect 4-for-4 passing on the first drive of the second half, and his 30-yard touchdown pass to Stokes with 12:54 to play in the third quarter extended the lead to 34-7. A poor snap on a punt attempt by WNMU left the Lions with a short field, and Lealiiee’s 4-yard touchdown run made it a 41-7 lead at the 10:16 mark of the third quarter. 

Western cut into the lead with a long touchdown pass on the next drive, and a Smalls pass was intercepted in the endzone. The defense held strong and got the ball back to the Lions and Jemal Williams pushed the lead to 48-14 with a 7-yard scoring run on the first play of the fourth quarter. 

The Lions were able to extend the lead on their final two drives of the game, as McPhaul had a 49-yard run to set up his 8-yard touchdown carry, and Smith went 19 yards for a touchdown on his only touch of the game.

Lions sweep DBU to earn the ninth consecutive win.

DALLAS– The No. 23 Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team defeated Dallas Baptist University in straight sets on Saturday afternoon. The set scores were 26-24, 25-23, and 25-20. 

The win brings the Lions to 19-4 on the season and 11-1 in the Lone Star Conference. The Patriots fall to 13-11 and 5-7 in LSC play. 

The Lions return home to face divisional rival Arkansas-Fort Smith on Friday at 6;00 pm. The match will be played at the Field House. The Lions will then host Cameron on Saturday at 4:00 pm. 

Tickets to Lion Volleyball home matches can be purchased by visiting WeAreLionsTix.com, by calling (903) 468-8756, or by visiting the Lion Sales & Service Box Office inside the Field House during business hours. 

HEAD COACH CRAIG CASE AFTER THE MATCH

– On winning three very close sets: “They are a really good team, and they are exceptional at home. To be able to hold onto those first two sets and pull those out on the road against that team was a real positive sign.”

– On matching the intensity: “When you are on the road, you have to be able to match the intensity of the team in their gym. You have to execute at a high level. And that’s exactly what we did, especially in those critical points in the match. It really was a team effort. I think we had some fatigue by some players but when people weren’t playing great, I thought others stepped up. It was a really good win.” 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

– Sydney Andersen (Placentia, Calif.) led the team with 14 kills. She also had five digs.

– Bina Njikam (Keller) had 11 kills and also led the team with four blocks. Shelley Chapron (Houston – St. Pius X) had eight kills, leading the team with a .400 hitting percentage.

– Riley Davidson (Commerce) led the team with 20 digs, and also had a pair of aces. Savannah Rutledge (The Woodlands – College Park) had 12 digs.

– Celeste Vela (Guadalajara, Mexico) led the team with 24 assists, while Natalie Sarbeck (Cypress – Cy-Fair) had 16. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

It was a game of runs throughout the first set. DBU jumped out to an early lead, taking four of the first five points, and eventually pushing their lead to 11-6. The Lions rallied back, taking five in a row to tie the set. It was part of a 12-3 run by A&M-Commerce that gave them an 18-14 lead. DBU then responded, going on a 4-0 run to tie the set again. After the Lions took three in a row again, DBU took five of the next six to have the Lion face set point. However, A&M-Commerce got consecutive kills from Andersen and took the final three points, winning the set 26-24. 

It was again back and forth throughout the second set. DBU took two separate leads of three points, yet the Lions battled back both times to tie the set. Midway through the set, the score was tied at 13. After DBU built an 18-16 lead, the Lions scored four in a row to take a lead. After DBU rallied to regain the lead, the Lions closed out the set with a flourish, taking four of the final five points to win 25-23. 

DBU got off to a hot start in the third set, taking a 7-3 early lead. The Lions kept their composure and rallied back, taking nine of the next 12 points to take a 12-10 lead. The lead changed hands multiple times over the next points, with the teams tied at 19 late. The Lions then finished on fire, winning six of the final seven points to win the set 25-20.

 

Lion men finish 8th, women finish 12th at LSC Championships.

SILVER CITY, N.M.– The Texas A&M University-Commerce cross country teams competed at the Lone Star Conference Championships on Saturday morning. The women’s team finished in 12th place while the Lion men finished in eighth place. 

COACH LUKE SCRIBNER AFTER THE MEETS

On the women’s race: “Brandi was 8th overall and all-conference, she ran a tough race and battled with altitude schools for the top 10 spots. I’m very proud of her grit and determination. Shelby White and Mallory Morgan also ran well in coming through close to PR’s in the 5k and moving well on the back half.” 

On the men’s race: “We had some good performances, we ran a tough fought race against some great teams. Being at 6k altitude it was tough for us. Garvin led the team running very well on the back half, moving up over 50 places in the last two miles. also, our freshman Timon, Tanner, and Cooper ran well in their first performance.”  

WOMEN’S RACE

Brandi Stalder (Sanger) claimed all-LSC honors with her eighth-place finish at 23:06.48. It is her second career all-LSC award in cross country, which honors the top 15 finishers in the conference meet each season. 

Stalder’s finish is only the 19th all-conference award for a Lion in women’s cross country, and she becomes the fifth Lion woman to win multiple all-LSC honors. 

She led her team to a 12th place finish in the 16 team field with 324 points. Shelby White (Eustace) placed 69th with a time of 25:47.04, Mallory Morgan (Katy) placed 73rd at 25:52. 25, Cassidy Seaney (Miller Grove) placed 94th at 26:47.46, and Taylor Jones (Garland – North Garland) placed 115th to round out the Lion scorers at 28:16.38. 

MEN’S RACE

Garvin Chilton (Katy) led the men’s team, finishing in 16th place, just out of all-conference position. He neared his career-best time, finishing in 26:14.2. Timon Kemboi (Eldoret, Kenya) finished in 28th place, running 26:54.3. 

Octopius Ndiwa (Eldoret, Kenya) finished 42nd overall with a time of 27:17.3. Cooper Miller (Big Spring) finished in 62nd place at 27:53.6, Mason Boswell (Katy) finished 65th at 28:04.7, AJ Tillman (Rowlett – Sachse) finished 84th at 28:53.0, and Tanner Townsend (Royse City) placed 91st to round out the Lion scoring at 29:02.4.

The Lion men and women return to the course on November 9 for the NCAA South Central Regional meet. The meet will be in Canyon.

 

No. 23 Lions use all-around team performance to best Tarleton 3-1.·          

STEPHENVILLE– The No. 23 Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team defeated Tarleton 3-1 on Friday night. The set scores were 25-21, 25-23, 14-25, and 26-24. 

The win brings the Lions to 18-4 on the season and 10-1 in the Lone Star Conference. The Texans fall to 12-9 and 6-5 in conference play. 

The Lions return to action on Saturday as they face DBU. The match will be played at 1 p.m. at the Burg Center in Dallas. 

HEAD COACH CRAIG CASE AFTER THE MATCH

– Thoughts on the match: “I thought we came out really aggressively in sets one and two. Then in set three, they made some really good adjustments and we just seemed to be baffled by that. But once we started to address them and got the momentum back, we were able to put ourselves in a position to win the match. To beat a team that good that has that home gym, you have to play the best volleyball you can play to beat them at their own gym. You just can’t come there and hope they don’t play well. I was really pleased with what we did.”

On putting the third set struggles behind them quickly: “There was nothing we could do about that third set. We just had to put it behind us and move on. We had to put it behind us and get ready to play the next set. And the most enjoyable part of this match was the fourth set was back and forth volleyball. I thought both teams did really well. They built a three-point lead there towards the end and we chipped away at it. When you get two teams that are playing side-out volleyball like that, it’s so much fun to be a part of and to play in. I was pleased with how our players played in another team’s gym that was playing well.”

– On getting a total team performance: “This was the definition of a team win. In the timeouts, the players who weren’t playing were almost running the timeouts. Everyone was communicating about what needed to happen, what was currently happening and what needed to be fixed. As a coach, when you have everybody invested in the outcome, you feel good about that. There were times when Bina took over the match, there were times when Shelley took the match over, there were times when Celeste or Savannah took over the match. Everybody took turns pushing us forward. And as a team, everyone was so invested in the win. There were players who didn’t play, but they were drenched in sweat and they lost their voices. That’s a fun team win and everyone was involved.” 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

– Bina Njikam (Keller) led the Lions with 14 kills in the match. She also tied for the team lead with seven blocks.

– Shelley Chapron (Houston – St. Pius X) had 11 kills, hitting a team-high 308 in the match. She had eight kills over the first two sets.

– Sydney Andersen (Placentia, Calif.) recorded her first double-double of the season with 11 kills and a season-high 15 digs. Nicki Gonelli (Round Rock – Stony Point) also finished in double digits with 10 kills.

– Riley Davidson (Commerce) had seven kills and 13 digs while Destiny Greenwood (Fairfield, Calif.) had five kills and co-led the team with seven blocks.

– Natalie Sarbeck (Cypress – Cy-Fair) had a team-high 26 assists while Celeste Vela (Guadalajara, Mexico) had 22 assists.

– Savannah Rutledge (The Woodlands – College Park) led the team with 21 digs.

– The Lions had 18 kills or more in each of their set wins, with five or fewer attack errors in each of those set wins. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

The teams split the first six points of the match before the Lions went on a run to establish a lead. Led by consecutive kills from Davidson, the Lion led 10-5 early. The teams again began to trade points before the Lions went on a 4-1 run to take a 21-14 lead in the set. TSU battled back with three points in a row but the Lions were not deterred, taking the first set 25-21. The Lions hit .441 as a team in the set. 

The Lions got off to a hot start in the second set, winning four of the first five points. The Texans answered back with a 6-1 run of their own to take a 10-7 lead. A&M-Commerce rallied back, going on another 4-1 run to recapture the lead. It was a game of hot potato as the teams traded points and leads throughout the rest of the set before the Lion defense forced a trio of Tarleton errors at the end of the set to win 25-23. 

Things got away from the Lions early in the third set. After leading 3-2, the Lions then surrendered 14 of the next 16 points to fall behind 16-5. The Lions stemmed the tide, including going on a 4-0 run to cut the lead to nine points. But TSU took the set 25-14. 

It was a game of runs in the fourth and final set, as the teams traded rallies and leads throughout. The teams traded the first eight points before Tarleton went on a 3-0 run to take a 10-7 advantage. The Lions answered back to take five of the next seven points to tie the set at 12 midway through. After TSU went on a 4-1 run, the Lions responded with a 4-1 run of their own, again tying the match at 17. After a 3-0 run from Tarleton gave them the momentum, the Lions then went on a 4-1 run to once again tie the set. Trailing 23-21, the Lions caught fire to close, taking five of the final six points to win the set in extra points, 26-24.

 

 

Lions pull off 1-0 road upset over Angelo State.

SAN ANGELO– The Texas A&M University-Commerce soccer team defeated Angelo State 1-0 on the road on Thursday night. Facing gusting winds and wind chills at near freezing, the Lions were able to net a penalty kick goal in the first half and hold off ASU in the second half to get the win. 

The win brings the Lions to 7-5-1 on the season and 4-4-0 in the Lone Star Conference. The Rambelles fall to 10-3-1 and 6-2-1 in conference play. 

The Lions return to the pitch on Saturday as they travel to face St. Edward’s on the road. The game will be played at 2:30 p.m. at Lewis-Chen Family Field in Austin. 

HEAD COACH NEIL PIPER AFTER THE GAME

– On getting the early lead and battling the elements: “It was a great win for our girls. We played really well in the first half with the wind and got the lead.”

– On holding off ASU in the second half: “We changed formations and went more defensive in the second half and defended the lead.”

– On the play of the defense: “Jen Peters made some great saves in goal and the defense played really well throughout.” 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

– Leslie Campuzano (Garland – Lakeview Centennial) scored a penalty kick goal in the 41st minute, her sixth goal of the season, and her first game-winning goal. She had two shots on goal.

– Katie Givens (Rockwall) and Myca Crum (Fort Worth – Arlington Heights) also each had a shot on goal.

– Jen Peters (Allen) earned her sixth shutout of the season, saving seven ASU shots on goal. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

The teams played strong defense early in the match, as neither team was able to get off a shot for the first seven minutes of the game. ASU had a shot on goal in the eighth minute that was saved by Peter. ASU was aggressive, drawing two offside penalties in the first 13 minutes of the half. Peters made another save in the 14th minute to keep the game scoreless. 

After getting off two shots that were off the mark, the Lions had their first shot on goal in the 25th minute, as Givens attacked from 20 yards out. The shot was saved. Crum then had a shot on goal in the 30th minute near the crossbar, but a leaping save was just made by the keeper to keep the Lions off the board. Peters saved another shot in the 33rd minute. 

The Lions got a golden opportunity late in the half. After a corner kick was punched out, Amber Crews (Lewisville) drew a foul inside the penalty area going after the ball and A&M-Commerce was awarded a penalty kick in the 42nd minute. Campuzano took the kick and blasted it into the left side of the net, just past the ASU keeper, giving the Lions a 1-0 lead heading into halftime. 

ASU had three chances midway through the half. Peters made a pair of diving saves, one in the 66th minute and another in the 68th minute, and again made a save in the 72nd minute, holding off ASU’s attack. 

The Lions then switch sides of the field, attacking as Campuzano had a shot on goal in the 78th minute. The Rambelles again went on the offensive, as Peters made a save in the 80th minute. Another ASU shot was high as they continued to look for the equalizing goal. However, the Lion defense held firm, and A&M-Commerce bled the rest of the clock to get the win.

 

Josh Manck

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

Committed to a “Best in Class” student-athlete experience

Office: 903.886.5131 Mobile: 817.487.5136

Mailing Address: P.O. Box 3011 | Commerce, TX 75429

Physical Address: 2600 Neal Street, Commerce, TX 75429

Connect with us on our Lions’ Den Social Stream.

 

Marcus Jensen

Director of Athletic Communications | Texas A&M University-Commerce

Office: 903.468.3027 | Mobile: 801.624.8529

Follow us: @Lion_Athletics | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram | LionAthletics.com

Committed to a “Best in Class” experience for all.