Lion offense shines in a 4-3 overtime win over UT Tyler to open Spring 2021 season.

COMMERCE – After a 469-day layoff, the Texas A&M University-Commerce soccer team decided they wanted to play overtime. The extra time paid off with a game-winning goal in the 98th minute for a 4-3 victory over UT-Tyler. 

The Lions are now 1-0 overall and in the Lone Star Conference. The Patriots fall to 1-2 overall and 0-1 in league action. 

A&M-Commerce hosts DBU at 1:00 pm Saturday for the second of three straight home games in seven days.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

– Neither team was afraid to shoot after the long break, as the Lions launched 30 shots with 12 on goal, and the Patriots took 17 shots with 11 on goal.

– Leslie Campuzano (Garland – Lakeview Centennial) was in on all four Lion goals with two goals and two assists.

– Mindy Shoffit (Wichita Falls – Rider) headed home the golden goal off a Campuzano corner in the 98th minute. Amber Crews (Lewisville) also scored off of a corner kick.

– Lauren Banning (Pflugerville) earned the win in goal with six saves after coming into the game at halftime.

HEAD COACH NEIL PIPER AFTER THE MATCH 

HOW IT HAPPENED

As UT-Tyler scored in the fourth minute after a mix-up in the Lion penalty area on a long ball, the Lions fell behind early. Shaylee Anaya put the ball in the back of the net for the early lead for the visitors.

A&M-Commerce even things up in the 17th minute. Campuzano found a loose ball at the top of the area and rocketed a left-footed shot off the post’s inside. 

The Lions took the lead in the 35th minute after Skylar Sorrell won a corner kick. Campuzano lofted the ball into the mixer, and Crews converted for the 2-1 lead. 

The frantic first half would take another turn in the 44th minute when UTT was able to play the ball from the back and float across to the back post where Sydnee Garner headed it home to tie the match at 2-all, headed to the break. 

Campuzano wasted no time putting the Lions back in front, scoring her second of the match in the 47th minute. Her long shot off the crossbar was unable to be cleared, and she followed up her rebound with a hard, low shot for a 3-2 lead. 

The Patriots were able to tie the match in the 87th minute when a long free-kick played into the box was hit home by Sarah Flannelly despite shouts for offside. 

In overtime, the Lions controlled the run of play, earning three corner kicks. The final one turned into the golden goal when Shoffit put her right foot on the end of Campuzano’s in-swinger to bring the match to a close with the Lions as victors.

Tight margins go the other way in Lions’ 3-1 loss at Texas Woman’s

DENTON – The Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team had more kills and a higher hitting percentage than Texas Woman’s on Wednesday night, but critical points swung the wrong way in a 3-1 loss.

Set scores were 23-25, 20-25, 25-11, and 23-25. The Lions are now 2-4 on the season through the first loop of the Lone Star Conference Central Division play, and the Pioneers are 3-3. 

The Lions return home next week to host division-leading UT-Tyler on Tuesday and Wednesday.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

– Maddy Rashford (Placentia, Calif.) had a standout performance with 11 error-free kills, a .344 hitting percentage, three blocks, and six digs.

– Sydney Andersen (Placentia, Calif.) earned a double-double with 11 kills and 12 digs.

– Both Lion setters made double-doubles, with Celeste Vela (Guadlajara, Mexico) passing out 19 assists and picking up 13 digs and Natalie Sarbeck (Cy-Fair) passing out 22 assists and picking up 11 digs.

– Riley Davidson (Commerce) had 17 digs, and Lyric Hebert (Arvada, Colo.) had 15 digs. Maiya Dickie (Huntsville) had ten kills. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

The first set was neck-and-neck throughout, with neither team able to stretch their lead to more than three points. The Lions trailed 20-17 and scored four straight points out of a timeout, including a Vela ace. A&M-Commerce held a 23-22 lead, but the Pioneers scored the last three points in succession to take the first frame. The Lions hit .133 with 13 kills against seven errors in the set. 

TWU jumped out to an eight-point lead in the second set at 16-8, but the Lions didn’t back down. A&M-Commerce fought off set point three times before falling two sets to none at 25-20. Andersen had four kills in the set, but the Pioneers recorded five service aces. 

The Lions responded with a fury in the third set for a 25-11 rout. A&M-Commerce committed only one hitting error with 13 kills on 20 swings for a .600 hitting percentage in the frame. Dickie had four kills on five swings in the set. 

The fourth set saw the Lions fall behind 15-8 after six straight TWU points, but a late surge out the match on a knife’s edge. Five consecutive points, including a solo block from Rashford, tied the set up at 21-21. Both still had the set knotted at 23-all, but the Pioneers scratched out the final two points to close out the match.

Svaerd, Amador, Russ, and Sanchez named LSC Indoor Track & Field All-Academic.

RICHARDSON – Three Texas A&M University-Commerce men and one woman have been named to the 2021 Lone Star Conference Indoor Track and Field All-Academic Team, as announced by the league office Wednesday. 

On the women’s side, Minna Svaerd (Karlstad, Sweden) earns her second LSC All-Academic honor, repeating her 2020 honor. The sport and recreation management major has been named to the Dean’s List four times, the LSC Commissioner’s Honor Roll four times, the Athletics Director’s Honor Roll three times, and Lion Honor Roll three times. She was also named USTFCCCA All-Academic in 2020. She won the 2021 LSC Indoor Championship in the 400-meter dash, the pole vault, and the 4×400 meter relay last weekend at the conference meet. She is the most decorated female athlete ever at the LSC indoor meet with nine gold medals and became the first LSC female athlete to win the same event four times with her pole vault championship. 

On the men’s side, LSC All-Academic named the throwing trio of Ryan Amador (Jonesboro, Ark.), Mason Russ (Grove, Okla.), and Steven Sanchez (New Braunfels). 

Amador is a kinesiology and sports studies major named to the President’s List once, the LSC Commissioner’s Honor Roll twice, the Best In Class Honor Roll once, and the Athletics Director’s Honor Roll once. He earned points for the Lions at the conference meet with a sixth-place finish in the shot put. 

Russ is a kinesiology and sports studies major who has been named to the President’s List once, the Dean’s List twice, the LSC Commissioner’s Honor Roll three times, the Best In Class Honor Roll once, and the Athletics Director’s Honor Roll twice. 

Sanchez is a graduate student pursuing his master’s in Health, Kinesiology, & Sports Studies after previously earning his bachelor’s in Kinesiology & Sports Studies at A&M-Commerce. He has been named USTFCCCA All-Academic in 2020, as well as LSC All-Academic in the 2019 season. He is a D2ADA Academic Achievement Award winner. He was named to the President’s List once, the Dean’s List three times, the LSC Commissioner’s Honor Roll six times, the Best In Class Honor Roll three times, the Athletics Director’s Honor Roll three times, and the Lion Honor Roll four times. He was a point scorer for the Lions at last week’s conference meet with a sixth-place finish in the weight throw.

2021 LSC INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD ALL-ACADEMIC AWARDS
WOMEN’S ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM

LSC Women’s Indoor Track and Field Academic Athlete of the Year:  Summer Grubbs, UT Tyler

MEN’S ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM

LSC Men’s Indoor Track and Field Academic Athlete of the Year:  Marius Laib, Angelo State

Lions host Cameron Thursday for the home finale

COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce men’s basketball team plays its final home game of the 2020-21 season on Thursday, hosting the Aggies of Cameron University. 

WHO: Cameron at A&M-Commerce

WHERE: Commerce | The Field House

WHEN: 6:00 pm on Thursday, February 25

RECORDS: A&M-Commerce is 6-6 overall and in the Lone Star Conference. Cameron is 1-14 overall and in the LSC.

RANKINGS: Neither team is ranked.

TELEVISION/LIVE VIDEO: Lone Star Conference Digital Network (Direct Link)

RADIO: Lion Sports Network | KETR-FM 88.9 (Streaming on KETR.org)

LIVE STATS: Click HERE 

LIONS HOST AGGIES FOR HOME FINALE

• The Lions play their third of four games in six days, hosting Cameron for the final home game of the 2020-21 season.

 • The Lions struggled from the field in Tuesday’s 70-56 road loss at Angelo State.

• The Lions shot 33.3 percent (18-of-54) from the floor, while the Rams shot 43.9 percent (25-of-57) from the field.

• A&M-Commerce’s excellent three-point defense continued, as the Lions limited ASU to 4-of-19 (21.1 percent) from beyond the arc.

• Augustine Ene was the only Lion in double figures with a career-high 22 points on 6-of-10 shooting with an 8-of-9 success rate at the free-throw line.

• Carson Tuttle (Mukilteo, Wash.) had nine points and a team-high five rebounds.

• Angelo State won the rebounding battle 45-29 and scored 40 points in the paint. 

PERIMETER EXCELLENCE

• The Lions have been fantastic in limiting their opposition from converting on three-point attempts, ranking first in the LSC and second nationally with an opponents’ three-point percentage of 28.1.

• A&M-Commerce has allowed the lowest three-point percentage of any team in the nation which has played double-digit games.

• This has helped the Lions to rank fourth in the league in scoring defense, as TAMUC allows 73.4 points per game. Since the first game of the season, no team has scored more than 80 points on the Lions.

Lions hold at No. 7 in NFCA national poll.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Texas A&M University-Commerce softball team is ranked seventh nationally in the national coaches’ poll released by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association on Wednesday. It marks the 36th consecutive poll in which they ranked A&M-Commerce in the nation’s top 25. 

The Lions are 3-1 entering this weekend’s Irwin Classic, where they will face No. 3 Augustana and St. Mary’s twice apiece. A&M-Commerce has been kept away from the diamond by winter weather conditions since the season’s opening week. The Lions did not move in the polls, as the top nine in the nation stayed steady.

A&M-Commerce has eight teams in the top 25 on this year’s schedule. No. 1 Southern Arkansas, No. 3 Augustana, No. 4 UT Tyler, No. 10 Oklahoma Christian, No. 16 Rogers State, No. 19 Angelo State, and No. 24 Lubbock Christian are all scheduled to visit the John Cain Family Softball Complex. The Lions visit both Rogers State and No. 18 Texas A&M-Kingsville.  

2021 NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll

February 24

Lions take first set before falling in four to Texas Woman’s

Box Score DENTON – The No. 18 Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team took the first set before falling in four sets at Texas Woman’s University on Tuesday night. 

Set scores were 25-19, 19-25, 24-26, and 13-25. 

Both teams are now 2-3 entering Wednesday’s rematch in Kitty Magee Arena on the TWU campus. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

– The Lions hit .154 in the match with 47 kills, while TWU hit .224 with 49 kills.

– Sydney Andersen (Placentia, Calif.) and Maiya Dickie (Huntsville) led the Lions with nine kills apiece.

– Celeste Vela (Guadalajara, Mexico) passed out 27 assists.

– Riley Davidson (Commerce) had 26 digs, and Lyric Hebert (Arvada, Colo.) had ten digs. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Lions took the lead in the first set thanks to an 8-3 run, including a combo block from Maddy Rashford (Placentia, Calif.) and Destiny Greenwood (Fairfield, Calif.). The Lions closed the set with four straight kills, including a pair by Vela to close out the set. The Lions hit .306 inset with 13 kills. 

In the second set, the Lions took a 6-4 lead and then extended it to a 16-12 lead. TWU bounced back and closed the set on a 13-3 rally to tie the match at a set apiece. TWU hit .314 in the set, and the Lions hit .171 with 12 kills and six errors. 

They tightly fought the third set after TWU took an early 13-9 lead. The Lions battled back with an 8-3 run to take an 18-17 lead with Andersen’s three kills. Another Andersen kill fought off the set point, but the Pioneers took two straight points to take a 2-1 lead. A&M-Commerce hit .163 in the set with 14 kills and six errors. 

The Pioneers were able to put their foot on the pedal in the third set. From a 6-4 TWU lead, the Pioneers scored 10 of the next 11 points for a 16-5 lead. The Lions were able to cut that lead down to nine points, but the hosts close out the match.

Lions’ late second-half rally not enough in 70-56 loss to Angelo State

SAN ANGELO – The Texas A&M University-Commerce men’s basketball team had a tremendous run late in the second half, but it was too little too late in a 70-56 loss to Angelo State in the Junell Center on Tuesday afternoon. 

The Lions fall to 6-6 overall and in the Lone Star Conference, while Angelo State is now 6-9.

A&M-Commerce has two games remaining in the regular season, hosting Cameron at 6:00 pm Thursday before traveling to Lawton, Okla., to take on the Aggies on Saturday afternoon. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

– The Lions shot 33.3 percent (18-of-54) from the floor, while the Rams shot 43.9 percent (25-of-57) from the field. A&M-Commerce’s excellent three-point defense continued, as the Lions limited ASU to 4-of-19 (21.1 percent) from beyond the arc.

– Augustine Ene (Carrollton – Creekview) was the only Lion in double figures with a career-high 22 points on 6-of-10 shooting with an 8-of-9 success rate at the free-throw line.

– Carson Tuttle (Mukilteo, Wash.) had nine points and a team-high five rebounds.

– Angelo State won the rebounding battle 45-29 and scored 40 points in the paint. 

HEAD COACH JARET von ROSENBERG AFTER THE GAME

It was an old-school slugfest, to be honest with you. Nobody shot the ball particularly well at all. There were a lot of fouls and a lot of fouls they didn’t call. It was a very physical matchup, as it always is with Angelo. Please give them a lot of credit. They were prepared and did an excellent job on us defensively. I thought we got some good looks, especially in the first half. We were a little bit better in the second half, but it just wasn’t going down. When you miss that many shots and they’re that good in transition, it puts a lot of pressure on your transition defense. I thought we did well in the halfcourt, but they got out on the run so many times. That’s how they got to the foul line, and they got some easy opportunities. 

You’ve got to make shots when you get to the rim, you’ve got to make shots when you get to the foul line, and then defensively, we had some breakdowns, but you expect some of that on a one-day prep when you’re guarding actions a little bit differently than you’re used to defending. I’ll live with the halfcourt defense we played and even the halfcourt offense. 

We have a quick turnaround with a game Thursday, it doesn’t get any easier, and nobody feels sorry for us. Cameron’s going to come in and try and steal one. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Lions scored the opening four points of the game on Demarcus Demonia’s shots (Fort Washington, Md.) before Angelo made five straight shots and six of seven to take a 17-6 lead with 11:27 left in the first half. The Lions missed eight consecutive field goals before an Ene jumper ended the skid. 

JJ Romer Rosario (Hialeah Gardens, Fla.) scored five straight points on a layup and a triple cutting the lead to six points with seven minutes left in half. The lead hovered around the two-possession realm until the final two minutes of the half when ASU scored seven straight points. Alex Peavy (Smithson Valley) hit a late jumper to make it a 36-25 game at halftime. A&M-Commerce made 11-of-30 (36.7 percent) of its field goals in half, but only 2-of-13 (15.4 percent) of its three-pointers. 

Another cold snap early in the second half hurt the Lions, as they missed nine straight field goals after scoring the half’s first points. Dante Adams (Osceola, Ark.) hit a three-pointer to end the low string, but the Rams took off to pull away. 

The Rams scored ten straight points around two missed Lion shots and a pair of TAMUC turnovers, stretching the home side’s advantage to 65-41 with just under five minutes to play. 

A&M-Commerce responded, though, with Leo Lara (Santa Rosa) hitting a jumper that would kickstart a 12-0 rally. Ene scored seven points in the run, but there was not enough time for the Lions to complete a comeback effort.

Lion men wrap up Rattler Invitational in seventh place.

SAN ANTONIO – The Texas A&M University-Commerce men’s golf team got off to a hot start in the third round. Still, it couldn’t maintain that momentum, finishing in seventh place at the Rattler Invitational on Tuesday. 

The Lions completed the event at 896 (+32, 298-294-304) and placed ahead of two teams ranked above them in the Golfstat rankings entering the tournament. Arkansas Tech won the tournament at 854. 

A&M-Commerce had three players in the top 20 on the individual leaderboard, led by Brody Blackmon (Sulphur Springs), who placed 12th at 6-over par 222 (75-73-74). His 2-over par 74 was the low round of the day for the Lions and featured four birdies, including two of his last three holes. 

The Hub City duo of Zach Burch (Lubbock – Cooper) and Tripp Wallace (Wolfforth – Frenship) tied for 20th place at 7-over par 223, and they each shot 5-over par 77 in Tuesday’s round, with Burch carding four birdies and Wallace, was notching three birdies. 

Joe Wolcik (Cleveland – Tarkington) placed 42nd at 14-over par 230, and Chance Mulligan (Dallas – Bishop Dunne) ranked 54th at 20-over par 236. 

The Lions return to action on March 8-9 in the Las Vegas Desert Classic desert, hosted by Missouri-St. Louis. A&M-Commerce will host the Lion Invitational at Trophy Club Country Club on March 22-23.

After 469 days away, the Lions finally return to action against UT Tyler to open the Spring 2021 season.

COMMERCE – For the first time since November 2019, the Texas A&M University-Commerce women’s soccer team will take to the pitch in true competition, opening the Spring 2021 season on Wednesday against UT-Tyler. The Lions last played 469 days ago at the end of the fall 2019 season.  

WHO: UT Tyler at A&M-Commerce

WHERE: Commerce | Lion Soccer Field

WHEN: 6:00 pm on Wednesday, February 24

RECORDS: This is the season opener for A&M-Commerce, while UT Tyler is 1-1 with a pair of games against Division I opposition.

TELEVISION/LIVE VIDEO: LSC Digital Network

LIVE STATS: http://statbroadcast.com/events/statmonitr.php?gid=tame 

The Lions:

Head coach Neil Piper leads A&M-Commerce, who will coach the Lions for the 23rd season this spring. He enters the season with a 257-143-38 record. Piper ranks 16th among active Division II coaches and 35th in Division II all-time in coaching victories. He ranks fifth in coaching wins at schools in the state of Texas. 

The Lone Star Conference Preseason Poll picked the Lions to finish seventh, the fourth-highest in the division behind DBU, West Texas A&M, and Texas Women. The Lions ranked fourth in the conference in goals-against last year. 

The vast majority of the Lions’ offensive production from 2019 is back for this season, as 82.1 percent of goals and all of the assists are back. Leslie Campuzano (Garland – Lakeview Centennial) leads and was a third-team all-region and second-team all-conference pick with seven goals and nine assists in 2019. She ranked second in the LSC in shots taken, second in assists, and 10th in goals. 

Kara Blasingame (Oswego, Ill.) and Amber Crews (Lewisville) tied for second on the team goals with four apiece last season. 

Cora Welch (Plano Senior) was third-team all-region and second-team all-conference in the midfield last season and had a goal and an assist. Goalkeeper Jen Peters (Allen) played every minute of the season in 2019 with nine shutouts and 0.82 goals-against average, which ranked third in the LSC. Her 86.2 save percentage was tops in the league.

On the opponent

They predict UT-Tyler to finish ninth in the LSC Preseason Poll, sixth of the seven teams in the division. The Patriots have played twice against Division I opposition this season, with a 3-0 loss to Louisiana-Monroe and a 1-0 win over Stephen F. Austin. Kiersten Ehler was the lone goal scorer. 

Kaycee West is the leading returner, as she scored five goals for the Patriots in 2019. No other returners scored more than one goal. 

Like the Lions, the Patriots are led by one of the deans of college women’s coaches in the state, as Stefanie Webb enters her 24th season with a 274-117-26 record split between Dallas and UTT. She is fourth in the state in wins at Texas schools, one spot ahead of Piper. 

In the series history

It is the second match between the two schools. The Lions were 2-1 victor on October 10, 2019, with Campuzano and Naomi Sink’s goals.

The No. 7 Lions add four-weekend games.

COMMERCE – The No. 7-ranked Texas A&M University-Commerce softball team has added four games this Friday and Saturday as part of the re-scheduled Irwin Classic co-hosted UT-Tyler. 

The Lions will host No. 3-ranked Augustana (S.D.), and St. Mary’s in a double round-robin format. The weekend schedule of games at A&M-Commerce’s John Cain Family Softball Field is listed below: 

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26

1:00 pm – Augustana at A&M-Commerce

3:30 pm – St. Mary’s at A&M-Commerce

6:00 pm – St. Mary’s vs. Augustana

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27

11:00 am – Augustana vs. St. Mary’s

1:30 pm – Augustana at A&M-Commerce

4:00 pm – St. Mary’s at A&M-Commerce

Stay tuned to LionAthletics.com and our social media channels for updates on schedules throughout the season.