COMMERCE – The Texas A&M College-Commerce soccer group hosts the homecoming sport this Saturday afternoon, internet hosting Nicholls at 3:30 p.m. The Lions are vying for his or her ninth straight homecoming weekend win.
WHO: Nicholls at A&M-Commerce
WHERE: Commerce | Ernest Hawkins Subject
WHEN: Saturday, October 21 | 5 p.m.
RECORDS: The Lions are 1-5 general and 1-1 in Soutland Convention play, whereas the Colonels are 2-3 general and have each their convention video games.
RANKINGS: Neither group 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/401540440
LIVE STATS: https://statb.us/b/473501
TICKETS: https://lionathletics.com/tickets
GAME NOTES: TAMUC | NICH
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.
• It’s also 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 in the course of 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 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 (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.
WINNING FEELING ON HOMECOMING
• This week is homecoming weekend for the Lions, who’re in search of their 9 straight win on homecoming weekend.
• By downing HCU 31-3 on homecoming weekend final 12 months, the Lions received their eighth straight homecoming sport and are 60-35-1 all-time on homecoming weekend.
• The final loss on Homecoming weekend got here on November 2, 2013 in opposition to Angelo State (25-20).
A WIN AT LAST
• The Lions snapped a four-game shedding streak and an eight-game shedding streak courting 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.
LEADERS IN INTERCEPTIONS
• By means of six video games, the Lions have 244 return yards from their 12 interceptions on the season.
• A&M-Commerce is the FCS chief in each classes.
• The Lions are tied with Japanese Illinois with 19 turnovers pressured for the FCS lead.
NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• After a two-interception efficiency in opposition to Previous 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 another 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.
SERIES HISTORY AGAINST THE COLONELS
• The Lions and the Colonels met in Thibodaux final season with Nicholls profitable 12-10.
• That matchup final season was the primary assembly between the 2 groups.
STAYING IN TEXAS
• After taking part in two video games on the other sides of the nation, the Lions are house 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.) |
ALWAYS FARED WELL AGAINST RANKED TEAMS
•The Lions have performed three nationally ranked groups to this point this season.
• Courting again to the 2015 season, A&M-Commerce has picked up no less than one win over a ranked group every season.
• Final season, the Lions beat No. 20/19 Southeastern on the street, for the primary ranked win as a Division I FCS member.
• This season, the Lions are 0-3 in opposition to ranked groups and shouldn’t have another ranked group left on their schedule.
FIVE HUNDRED TIMES ON THE ROAD
• The street sport at SFA was the Lions’ five hundredth sport on the street and third of the season.
• The Lions are 229-261-11 all-time on the street.
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 128 video games final week.
• The Lions had 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 final week.
• Taylor leads the group with 44 tackles and has pressured three turnovers.
• The senior defensive again was picked as a preseason all-Southland Convention
choice.
HARGROVE BURSTS ONTO THE SCENE
• Ra’Veion Hargove put the Lions up early in opposition to McNeese with two touchdowns within the second quarter.
• His second landing was a 49-yard run that put A&M-Commerce up 14-3 and began a 41-0 scoring run for the Lions.
• Hargrove has gained 220 yards on the bottom and 54 yards by way of the aerial route.
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. | Workforce | Conf. | Strk | Ultimate Document |
1983 | Dayton | Pioneer | W6 | 6-0 |
1999 | UAlbany | Northeast | W5 | 6-1 |
2002 | Gardner-Webb | Massive 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 profitable file, 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 group, 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 technique 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 not too long ago 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 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 line of defense.
• 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 Applications That Encourage in 2021.
• This system rankings are open to all four-year, collegiate-level packages 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;
-Educational 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 start line for a dialogue about the place student-athletes can excel as ‘triple-threat’ opponents (lecturers, athletics, and socially) in school and of their future lives.”
-TAMUC-