TAMUC – Sports

No. 11 soccer blanks St. Mary’s 2-0 with two header goals

COMMERCE– The No. 11 Texas A&M University-Commerce soccer team scored a 2-0 win over St. Mary’s on Friday night. The Lions scored two header goals off of corner kicks in the match.

The Lions are now 3-0-0 on the season, their best start to the season since they started 4-0-0 in 2009.

The Lions will hit the road for the first time this season on Sunday with a 1:00 p.m. match against No. 6 St. Edward’s. The game will be at Lewis-Chen Family Field in Austin.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
-Michelle Kotlik scored the game-winning goal in the 30th minute with a header off of a Kara Blasingame corner kick. It was her first goal of the season. Blasingame now has three assists on the season.
– Delaney Bunselmeyer scored a header goal in the 51st minute off of an Izzy Ward corner kick. It is Bunselmeyer’s second goal of the season and Ward’s first assist.
– Caitlin Duty saved the only shot on goal for St. Mary’s. It is Duty’s second shutout of the season.
– The Lions outshot St. Mary’s 13-2 in the match. The Lions had six shots on goal.
– The Lions, since 2009 when they started the season 4-0, are 3-0 for the first time.

HOW IT HAPPENED
St. Mary’s recorded its only shot on goal in the ninth minute of the match. Duty made the save to keep St. Mary’s off the board. The Lions dominated the ball throughout the game, keeping the ball in enemy territory for the majority of the game.

Leslie Campuzano was active early for the Lions. She had three shots in a seven-minute span, one of which was on goal. However, St. Mary’s keeper made a save, and the game remained scoreless.

Kotlik had two shots blocked in the early stages of the match, but she was undeterred. She took advantage of another opportunity off of a corner kick off the left foot of Blasingame. The ball curled in and Kotlik timed her jump right and launched her head into the ball, directing it into the net.

Cora Welch had a shot that went on goal in the 40th minute, but the Lions took a 1-0 lead into the half and saved it. The Lions outshot St. Mary’s 7-1 in the first half.

The Lions continued their ball dominance in the second half. They scored their second goal of the match in the 51st minute. Ward took a corner kick from the right and bent it toward the goal. This time it was Bunselmeyer who found the ball and directed it into the net on a header. The Lions took a 2-0 lead.

Campuzano had another save shot on goal, and Bunselmeyer also had a saved shot. After both defenses denied penetration for the next 15 minutes, Campuzano had her best chance of the match. However, her shot hit off the cross bar and kept the game with the score of 2-0.

St. Mary’s had a shot late in the match that was off the mark and the Lion defense held firm to finish the shut out and give the team their third win in a row to start the season.

 

Volleyball falls 3-1 to No. 12 Wayne State, rebounds by sweeping CSU-Pueblo

PUEBLO, Colo. – The Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team split their two matches Friday. The Lions fell 3-1 to No. 12 Wayne State College. The Lions then swept CSU-Pueblo. Set scores were 13-25, 20-25, 25-18 and 23-25 against WSC and 25-18, 25-16 and 25-22 against CSU-Pueblo.

The split brings the Lions to 3-3 on the season, with all three of their wins coming via sweep.

The Lions return to action on Saturday with two matchups. They will face No. 22 Colorado School of Mines at 1:30 p.m. and will face Colorado-Colorado Springs at 8:00 p.m. Both matches will be at the Gallogly Events Center in Colorado Springs.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (Match 1)
-Jaslyn Wacker recorded 11 kills with a .450 hitting percentage. She also had six blocks to lead the team with 14 points.
– Layne Little also had 11 kills in the match. She had three assisted blocks and three digs.
– Shelley Chapron had nine kills and five blocks. Mariyah Oliver also had nine kills and added four blocks.
– Jaryn Wacker had six kills and four digs. Sydney Reyes had three kills, Preston Lienemann had two kills, and Neka Nelson had one.
– Gabriela Rosa led the team with 24 assists. She also had nine digs. Rylie Fuentes had 14 assists and nine digs.
– Lacie Jessup led the team with 13 digs. Savannah Rutledge had eight digs.
– The Lions recorded 22 blocks, their highest amount this season.
– The Lions ended the third set on a 14-4 run.

HOW IT HAPPENED (Match 1)
After giving up the first point, the Lions scored three consecutive points to take an early lead in the first set. WSC answered back with four of the next five points to even up the score at the beginning of the game. Two sets of back-to-back errors allowed WSC to take a lead midway through the match. The Wildcats led 13-9 halfway through the first set.

Things began to snowball against the Lions as WSC went on an eight-point rally to take a 20-9 lead. The Lions scored the next two points but could not withstand the Wildcat barrage and fell 25-13 in the first set.

The Wildcats continued to score often to begin the second set. They scored the first 10 points of the second set before a kill from Chapron got the Lions on the board. After trailing 13-1, the Lions began to find their footing in the second set. They scored five of the next six points to cut into the Wildcat lead. Jaslyn Wacker and Chapron both had multiple kills to get the Lions back into the set, cutting the WSC lead in half.

Jaslyn Wacker again had consecutive kills as part of a three-point rally for A&M-Commerce to cut WSC’s lead to just 20-17, prompting a timeout. She had five kills in the second set. However, three was as close as the Lions would come. They fell 25-20.

Both teams had three-point runs in the early part of the third set. The game was tied 6-6 in the initial stages after back-to-back kills by Chapron. The teams continued to trade points early, and the score was tied 14-all at the midpoint of the third set.

The Lions began to rally behind the service of Jessup, finding holes in the Wildcat defense to exploit. The Lion defense also began to form a wall against WSC’s attacks. The Lions had four blocks in the late stages of the set, including back-to-back assisted blocks from Chapron and Reyes. Oliver, Chapron, and Little were also lucky on the attack, and the Lions took the third set 25-18, ending the third set on a 14-4 run.

The teams traded runs throughout the fourth set. The Lions took a quick 6-4 lead early in the match. WSC scored four unanswered points to take the lead. The Lions answered back with four-consecutive points of their own. It was part of a 9-1 run, where five different Lions recorded kills, plus an ace from Lienemann.

The Wildcats countered with an 8-1 run of their own to retake the lead. The set was tied at 20-all late in the fourth set. WSC scored four points in a row before the Lions countered with three points of their own. Trailing 24-23, the Lions could not extend the match and lost the next point to end the set.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (Match 2)
-Jaryn Wacker led the team with 12 kills, hitting .381. She had seven kills in the final set.
– Little had eight kills and six digs. Jaslyn Wacker had seven kills and three blocks.
– Oliver recorded six kills while Chapron had five kills and three blocks.
– Reyes had three kills. Rosa and Lienemann and Payton McMillan each had one kill.
– Rosa led the team with 19 assists. Fuentes had 18 assists.
– Rutledge led the team with 11 digs. Rosa and Jessup each had seven and Fuentes had six.

HOW IT HAPPENED (Match 2)
The Lions took the lead early in the first set, scoring three of the first four points. Pueblo had two early errors to aid the Lions. A&M-Commerce had a three-point streak that gave them a 9-4 lead in the set. After trading points, the Lions scored four of the next five points to take a 15-9 lead midway through the game. The Thunderwolves attempted to claw back into the set, cutting the A&M-Commerce lead to 18-15 before the Lions put away the match. The Lions scored the final four points of the game to win 25-18.

Pueblo scored the first three points of the second set before the Lions responded with four points of their own. That was the last time the Lions trailed in the match. With the score tied at six, the Lions scored five of the next six points to take control of the set. Attacking errors again plagued the Thunderwolves, and the Lions led 14-8 midway through the set. The Thunderwolves again tried to rally, cutting the Lion lead to just three points. However, the Lions would not relent and scored the final five points of the set to win 25-16.

The Lions fell behind 5-1 in the early stages of the third set. The Lions rallied behind Jaryn Wacker, who had four kills in a row for A&M-Commerce. Also with back-to-back kills was Oliver, and the Lions tied the set at 9-all.

Following four consecutive errors from the Thunderwolves to trail by three, Pueblo cut the Lion lead to one. The Lions started to take control of the final set after this. Little had back-to-back kills followed by back-to-back kills from Chapron. The Lions scored five of six points late to take a 22-16 lead. Pueblo looked to rally, scoring five of the next six points to trail by only two. However, the Lions closed out the set and earned the sweep.