For the only time since 1999, the Lions won both the regular season and the LSC Championship Tournament in the same year, after beating the No. 20 ranked team in the nation Angelo State 3-2.
“I felt like we deserved it, and it validated us winning the regular season,” said head coach Neil Piper, who picks up the school’s third LSC Tournament Championship (1999, 2004) under his tenure, “Obviously there’s great teams in the conference, so to win the regular season and the tournament is quite an accomplishment for these girls.”
Jade Bell was named the Tournament MVP, capping off an afternoon where Bell scored the game-winner (67’) off of a Shantel Wittke-deflection thanks to a deep Anitra Wright blast only one minute and four seconds after Angelo State had knotted things up at 2-2. Bell finished the tournament with one game-winning goal and one assist, moving to 29 points on the year (10G, 9A).
“It’s incredible. The energy levels that the fans bring…the adrenaline’s great. It just feels awesome to be crowned champions again,” said Bell, who extended her point-scoring streak to seven consecutive games, “I couldn’t have done it without the other girls. I run through to the end for them.”
Wright had an excellent game in her own right, racking up two assists on the day en route to her own All-Tournament honor. Her first came on the Lions’ second goal of the game, which was also started by a shot she blasted from well beyond the box. The ball nearly sailed into the top of the net, but a combination of the crossbar and Shantel Wittke’s long reach kept it at bay. However, midfielder Madison Cordts was lurking in the box, and when the rebound came her way, she delivered a beautiful header into the back of the net, giving the Lions a 2-0 lead.
Things got rolling for the Lions on a truly fluky goal at about the midway point of the first half. With a scrum of bodies in front of the ASU net, Vicky Back won a header, sending the ball into a mob of Rambelle defenders. The ball took a fortuitous series of bounces, and as the dust settled, Angelo State had scored an own-goal (23’), putting the Lions up 1-0.
The game had an unfortunate beginning when after 15 minutes of scoreless play, Lions top-forward Savannah Henderson went up for a header and came down awkwardly. As she went down, the fans went silent, until she was helped off the pitch. She would not return in the contest, forcing the Lions to find offensive solutions without the LSC’s top point scorer.
“We always have set pieces in our back pocket, and we’re always dangerous on throws and corner kicks,” said Piper, “It just shows that we have more than one way to score, and hopefully Savannah will be back next week.”
After falling down 2-0 after 34 minutes of play, the Rambelles responded with goals by Brianne Brown (38’) and Selena Alverez (67’) to tie the game at 2-2 midway through the second half. Fortunately for the Lions, keeper Courtnie Northern had some big moments on a six-save afternoon to put the Lions over the edge. Ultimately the game was very evenly matched with ASU controlling a slight shot-advantage at 16-13.
By winning the LSC-Tournament, the Lions earn a guaranteed berth into the NCAA Regionals. Two of the other teams guaranteed a spot will be Colorado School of Mines, the champion of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament, and St. Edward’s University, the champion of Heartland Conference Tournament. Who will join them, what seeds they will be assigned, and where the games will be played will not be determined until Monday, November 10, at 6:00 p.m.
“I think a lot of it in a tournament setting is matchup, we have to hope we get a team that we match up well with,” said Piper, who will appear in the sixth NCAA tournament of his 17-year career, “We’ve played three of the teams who are probably in it (this year), so we know what to expect. Every game’s going to be tight. The game today is what an NCAA Tournament game is probably going to be like, so it was good preparation for us.”
To celebrate the Lions’ Conference Championships, and also to find out who their next opponents will be, A&M-Commerce will host a viewing party at Luigi’s Restaurant. That will kick off at 5:30 p.m.