COMMERCE – The Texas A&M College-Commerce soccer workforce heads to Beaumont to satisfy Lamar for the primary time in 60 years as the 2 battle on Saturday for the primary time as Southland Convention foes.
WHO: A&M-Commerce at Lamar
WHERE: Beaumont | Provost Humphrey Stadium
WHEN: Saturday, November 4 | 3 p.m.
RECORDS: The Lions are 1-7 general and 1-3 in Southland Convention play, whereas the Cardinals are 4-4 general and 3-1 in opposition to SLC opponents.
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/401540380?gameId=401540380
LIVE STATS: https://lamarcardinals.com/sidearmstats/soccer/abstract
GAME NOTES: TAMUC
A&M-COMMERCE ENTERS SECOND YEAR IN NCAA DIVISION I FCS
• The Lions start the second season in NCAA Division I FCS this 12 months.
• Additionally it is the second season for the Lions within the Southland Convention and first underneath coach Clint Dolezel.
• A&M-Commerce will likely be eligible for FCS Playoffs throughout the 2026 season.
SLC MEMBERS IN 2023-24
| Establishment | Provides 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 the most effective 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 (Operating Backs), Jarrett Boykin (Huge 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.
LEADERS IN INTERCEPTIONS
• By way of seven video games, the Lions have 330 return yards from their 14 interceptions on the season, which incorporates two returned for a landing.
• A&M-Commerce is the FCS chief in interception return yards and tied with Jackson State and Richmond for 14 interceptions.
• The Lions are second within the FCS with 21 pressured turnovers.
• The interceptions returned for landing are from Javotrick Dotrey (Longview) and Jaden Rios (Frisco – Lone Star).
SERIES HISTORY AGAINST THE CARDINALS
• The Lions are 8-5 in opposition to Lamar all-time, although the 2 groups haven’t met since 1963.
• The final assembly, which was gained 10-0 by the Lions, additionally got here in Beaumont.
• Each groups are 3-3 in six prior conferences in Beaumont.
HOMECOMING WINNING STREAK COMES TO AN END
• Final week, the Lions fell to Nicholls on homecoming weekend, marking the primary loss on homecoming weekend for the Lions since 2013.
• A&M-Commerce is now 60-36-1 all-time on homecoming weekend.
A WIN AT LAST
• The Lions snapped a four-game shedding streak and an eight-game shedding streak relationship again to final season by beating McNeese.
• A&M-Commerce has began 1-0 in convention play in its each years within the Southland Convention and NCAA Division I FCS.
• The win additionally marked the primary collegiate teaching win for Clint Dolezel.
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.
• He enters week eight because the FCS chief in interception return yards, with 150, which is the 21 greater than some other FCS participant.
• He’s additionally tied for the FCS lead with 4 interceptions.
• Epps was the primary Nationwide Participant of the Week in any sport for A&M-Commerce within the Division I period.
STAYING IN TEXAS
• After taking part in two video games on the alternative sides of the nation, the Lions are dwelling in Texas for all however one recreation this season, taking part in seven straight video games within the Lone Star state.
• The lone out-of-state recreation 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 recreation 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 Staff |
| 2021 | W, 12-6, at Colorado State-Pueblo |
| 2022 | W, 52-7, vs. Lincoln (Calif.) |
ALWAYS FARED WELL AGAINST RANKED TEAMS
• The Lions have performed three nationally ranked groups to this point this season.
• Relationship again to the 2015 season, A&M-Commerce has picked up at the 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.
• This season, the Lions are 0-3 in opposition to ranked groups and should not have some other ranked workforce left on their schedule.
FIVE HUNDRED TIMES ON THE ROAD
• The highway recreation at SFA was the Lions’ five hundredth recreation on the highway and third of the season.
• The Lions are 229-262-11 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 transferring as much as NCAA Division I.
CALIFORNIA LOVIN’
• The sport at Sac State was A&M-Commerce’s first recreation within the state of California since taking part in UC Davis in 1999.
STILL STREAKING
• A&M-Commerce prolonged its non-shutout streak to 130 video games final week.
• The Lions have been final shutout on Nov. 12, 2011.
TAYLOR-MADE START TO THE SEASON
• A cornerstone for the Lion protection,
Daryion Taylor totaled 9 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, a sack, and one interception, which got here within the fourth quarter, in opposition to UIW.
• Taylor leads the workforce with 53 tackles and has pressured 4 turnovers.
• The senior defensive again was picked as a preseason all-Southland Convention choice.
RARE FEAT FOR THE LIONS
• Final season, the Lions began 3-0 in convention play with the win over HCU. The Lions grew to become 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. | Staff | Conf. | Strk | Last Report |
| 1983 | Dayton | Pioneer | W6 | 6-0 |
| 1999 | UAlbany | Northeast | W5 | 6-1 |
| 2002 | Gardner-Webb | Huge South | W3 | 3-0 |
| 2022 | A&M-COMMERCE | SOUTHLAND | W3 | 3-3 |
RARELY MISSED HISTORY
• The Lions went 5-6 in 2022, not often lacking a profitable document, stopping a streak of getting a profitable season for yearly since 2013.
LIONS EARN NATIONAL RECOGNITION IN 2022
• After the win at Southeastern a 12 months 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 have been additionally named as a honorable point out Nationwide Staff 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 strategy 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 presently, or just lately signed skilled soccer contracts, highlighted Miami Dolphins beginning cornerback Kader Kohou.
• Luis Perez ended the latest XFL season as a league champion with the Arlington Renegades, incomes championship recreation 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 High 20 Packages 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 scholar expertise in 4 areas:
-Holistic growth of student-athletes within the establishment;
-Tutorial achievement and assist for the educational success of student-athletes;
-General school expertise for members throughout the program;
-Affordability/commencement charges/scholar satisfaction.
• Though Faculty Athletic Advisor’s record is subjective, the group believes these rankings “current an knowledgeable place to begin for a dialogue about the place student-athletes can excel as ‘triple-threat’ opponents (teachers, athletics, and socially) in school and of their future lives.”
-TAMUC-
