Zias to battle Lions on Sunday for LSC crown

Staff report

Although they’re currently tied for second place, Eastern New Mexico University and Texas A&M-Commerce will play for the Lone Star Conference women’s soccer regular-season championship at noon on Sunday at the ENMU pitch.

ENMU continued its remarkable run on Friday with a 2-1 victory over Texas Woman’s at the ENMU pitch, while Commerce won at West Texas A&M 2-1.

The Zias (9-6-0, 6-3-0 LSC) and the Lions (12-5-0, 6-3-0) both trail Angelo State (13-3-1, 6-3-1) by a point in the standings, but the Rambelles are done for the regular season after Friday’s 1-0 win at Midwestern State.

That means that the winner of Sunday’s ENMU-Commerce matchup — presuming it’s not a tie — would pass ASU in the standings. The LSC regular-season champion will host the four-team conference tournament next Friday and Sunday.

Senior forward Alyssa Prince scored with about 30 minutes left to push the Zias in front, and ENMU held on down the stretch. It was Prince’s 11th career goal, moving her into fifth place on the school’s all-time list.

The Zias took a 1-0 lead in the 16th minute on a goal by senior defender Victoria Perez, but the Pioneers tied it about five minutes later.

Prince also scored the winning goal in the Zias’ 2-1 win over TWU on Sept. 28 at Denton, Texas. It marked ENMU’s first season sweep of the Pioneers, and improved the Zias to 7-8-1 all-time in the series.

ENMU reached nine wins for the sixth time in the program’s 12-year history. The Zias can tie the school record of 10, set in 2005, with a win on Sunday.