COMMERCE – The Texas A&M College-Commerce soccer workforce is again at residence this Saturday after spending the earlier three video games on the highway to face McNeese at Ernest Hawkins Area as a part of Corridor of Fame and Household Weekend.
WHO: McNeese at A&M-Commerce
WHERE: Commerce | Ernest Hawkins Area
WHEN: Saturday, October 7 | 7 p.m.
RECORDS: The Lions are 0-4, whereas the Cowboys are 0-5 total and 0-1 in Southland play.
RANKINGS: Neither workforce is nationally ranked.
LIVE AUDIO: Lion Sports activities Community – KETR 88.9 FM, Commerce (http://www.ketr.org)
LIVE VIDEO: ESPN+ | https://www.espn.com/watch/participant/_/eventCalendarId/401540392?gameId=401540392
LIVE STATS: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=473500
GAME NOTES: TAMUC | MCN
TICKETS: https://lionathletics.com/sports activities/2021/8/18/tickets.aspx
A&M-COMMERCE ENTERS SECOND YEAR IN NCAA DIVISION I FCS
• The Lions start the second season in NCAA Division I FCS this week in opposition to UC Davis.
• It is usually the second season for the Lions within the Southland Convention and first below coach Clint Dolezel.
• A&M-Commerce will likely be eligible for FCS Playoffs in the course of the 2026 season.
SLC MEMBERS IN 2023-24
| Establishment | Affords Soccer? |
| A&M-COMMERCE | YES |
| Houston Christian | Sure |
| Incarnate Phrase | Sure |
| Lamar | Sure |
| McNeese State | Sure |
| New Orleans | No |
| Nicholls State | Sure |
| Northwestern State | Sure |
| Southeastern Louisiana | Sure |
| Texas A&M-Corpus Christi | No |
DOLEZEL TAKES THE REINS
• Coach Clint Dolezel makes his debut this season because the Lions coach, returning to his alma mater.
• A Lion Athletics Corridor of Fame inductee, Dolezel is taken into account probably the greatest enviornment soccer quarterbacks of all-time and coached a number of championship groups in enviornment soccer.
• He brings alongside one other Lion Athletics Corridor of Famer, Bobby Bounds because the offensive coordinator and Dave Ewart because the offensive line coach.
• Chase Paramore (Working Backs), Jarrett Boykin (Extensive Receivers), and Nathan Jester (Tight Ends) are new additions on the offensive workers, whereas Jay Williams (Safeties) is the lone new coach defensively.
• Each Jester and Williams spent final season on the teaching workers as graduate assistants.
PLAYING THE BEST OF THE BEST
• The Lions have the hardest energy of schedule within the FCS getting into this week in keeping with Massey Scores.
• The Lions have a ranking of 46.36 for its energy of schedule
| 1. | A&M-COMMERCE | 46.36 |
| 2. | Japanese Washington | 45.25 |
| 3. | Nicholls | 44.10 |
| 4. | Northern Iowa | 42.79 |
| 5. | Southern Utah | 42.75 |
INTERCEPTION RETURN YARDS LEADERS
• By way of 4 video games, the Lions have 172 return yards from their eight interceptions on the season, which leads the FCS.
• The 8 interceptions are additionally second within the FCS, solely behind Kennesaw State, who’s within the technique of transitioning to the FBS.
• The Lions are additionally fourth within the nation with 12 compelled turnovers.
NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• After a two-interception efficiency in opposition to Outdated Dominion, Max Epps was named the Southland Convention and FCS Stats Nationwide Defensive Participant of the Week final week.
• He enters week six because the FCS chief in interception return yards, with 150, which is the 50 greater than another FCS participant.
• He’s additionally tied for the FCS lead with 4 interceptions.
• Epps is the primary Nationwide Participant of the Week in any sport for A&M-Commerce within the Division I period.
SERIES HISTORY AGAINST THE COWBOYS
• The Lions and the Cowboys are assembly for the fourth time ever and second time because the Lions joined the Southland.
• A&M-Commerce is 2-1 all-time and picked up a 40-15 win in Lake Charles final season.
• The 2 groups are assembly in Commerce for the primary time since 1970.
STAYING IN TEXAS
• After taking part in two video games on the other sides of the nation, the Lions are residence in Texas for all however one sport this season, taking part in seven straight video games within the Lone Star state.
• The lone out-of-state sport comes at Northwestern State to shut out the season on November 11.
SUCCESS IN SEASON OPENERS
• A&M-Commerce fell to UC Davis in week one within the season opener, ending a streak of 9 straight wins within the first sport of the season.
• Previous to this season, the Lions final misplaced a season opener in 2012.
STREAK OF SEASON OPENING WINS
| 2013 | W, 51-6, Sul Ross State |
| 2014 | W, 98-20, East Texas Baptist |
| 2015 | W, 48-17, Adams State |
| 2016 | W, 40-28, at Delta State |
| 2017 | W, 8-7, at North Alabama |
| 2018 | W, 37-36 (OT), Texas A&M-Kingsville |
| 2019 | W, 93-0, Nuevo Leon Nationwide Workforce |
| 2021 | W, 12-6, at Colorado State-Pueblo |
| 2022 | W, 52-7, vs. Lincoln (Calif.) |
FIVE HUNDRED TIMES ON THE ROAD
• Final Saturday’s sport at SFA was the Lions’ five hundredth sport on the highway and third of the season.
• The Lions are 229-260-11 all-time on the highway.
A SERIES OF FIRSTS
• The Lions and ODU met for the primary time.
• It was additionally the primary time that A&M-Commerce confronted a FBS opponent since shifting as much as NCAA Division I.
CALIFORNIA LOVIN’
• The sport at Sac State was A&M-Commerce’s first sport within the state of California since taking part in UC Davis in 1999.
STILL STREAKING
• A&M-Commerce prolonged its non-shutout streak to 126 video games final week.
• The Lions had been final shutout on Nov. 12, 2011.
ALWAYS FARED WELL AGAINST RANKED TEAMS
•The Lions have performed two nationally ranked groups thus far this season.
• Courting again to the 2015 season, A&M-Commerce has picked up at the very least one win over a ranked workforce every season.
• Final season, the Lions beat No. 20/19 Southeastern on the highway, for the primary ranked win as a Division I FCS member.
• The Lions nonetheless have yet one more workforce on the schedule that’s at present ranked.
TAYLOR-MADE START TO THE SEASON
• A cornerstone for the Lion protection, Daryion Taylor recorded 9 tackles in week one in opposition to UC Davis, in addition to choosing up an interception. He leads the workforce with 32 tackles.
• The senior defensive again was picked as a preseason all-Southland Convention choice.
WINNING FEELING ON HOMECOMING
• By downing HCU 31-3 on homecoming weekend final yr, the Lions gained their eighth straight homecoming sport and are 60-35-1 all-time on homecoming weekend.
• Since 2008, A&M-Commerce is 8-6 in homecoming video games.
• The Lions play Nicholls within the homecoming sport this yr.
RARE FEAT FOR THE LIONS
• Final season, the Lions began 3-0 in convention play with the win over HCU. The Lions turned simply the fourth program to start out convention play 3-0 throughout its first season in NCAA Division I AA/FCS, becoming a member of UAlbany (DII), Dayton (DIII), and Gardner-Webb (DII).
| Yr. | Workforce | Conf. | Strk | Ultimate Document |
| 1983 | Dayton | Pioneer | W6 | 6-0 |
| 1999 | UAlbany | Northeast | W5 | 6-1 |
| 2002 | Gardner-Webb | Large South | W3 | 3-0 |
| 2022 | A&M-COMMERCE | SOUTHLAND | W3 | 3-3 |
RARELY MISSED HISTORY
• The Lions went 5-6 in 2022, hardly ever lacking a successful document, stopping a streak of getting a successful season for yearly since 2013.
LIONS EARN NATIONAL RECOGNITION IN 2022
• After the win at Southeastern a yr in the past, quarterback Eric Rodriguez was among the many honorable point out candidates for FCS Nationwide Offensive Participant of the Week award.
• As a workforce, the Lions had been additionally named as a honorable point out Nationwide Workforce of the Week
• On October 17, Kendall Paul was additionally named an honorable point out Defensive Participant of the Week after incomes the SLC Defensive Participant of the Week.
FINDING SECOND HOMES
• As is the case across the nation, the Lions welcome 24 transfers to the squad in 2023. The transfers have discovered their approach to Commerce from all ranges of faculty soccer.
| Faculty Soccer Division | Variety of Transfers |
| Division I FBS | 1 |
| Division I FCS | 10 |
| Division II | 5 |
| NAIA & Junior Faculty | 8 |
LIONS IN THE PROS
• 4 Lion alums are at present, or lately signed skilled soccer contracts, highlighted Miami Dolphins beginning cornerback Kader Kohou.
• Luis Perez ended the newest XFL season as a league champion with the Arlington Renegades, incomes championship sport MVP honors.
• Latest graduate, Celestin Haba signed a contract with the Winnepeg Jets of the Canadian Soccer League and has turn into a mainstay on the defensive position.
• Haba joins Jalen Edwards-Cooper within the CFL. Edwards-Cooper performs for the British Columbia Lions.
LION FOOTBALL RANKED NO. 4 IN “TOP 20 PROGRAMS THAT INSPIRE”
• The Lion Soccer program was ranked No. 4 in Faculty Athletic Advisor’s Prime 20 Applications That Encourage in 2021.
• This system rankings are open to all four-year, collegiate-level applications exterior of NCAA Division I and are primarily based on a subjective evaluation of pupil expertise in 4 areas:
-Holistic improvement of student-athletes within the establishment;
-Tutorial achievement and assist for the educational success of student-athletes;
-Total school expertise for individuals throughout the program;
-Affordability/commencement charges/pupil satisfaction.
• Though Faculty Athletic Advisor’s record is subjective, the group believes these rankings “current an knowledgeable start line for a dialogue about the place student-athletes can excel as ‘triple-threat’ rivals (teachers, athletics, and socially) in school and of their future lives.”
-TAMUC-
