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East Texas A&M Lions women's soccer
Founded	1995; 29 years ago (1995)
University	East Texas A&M University
Head coach	Ashley Gordon (3rd season)
Conference	Southland
Location	Commerce, Texas
Stadium	Lion Soccer Field (Capacity: 500)
Nickname	Lions
Colors	Blue and gold
Home Away
NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals
1999
NCAA Tournament appearances
1999, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
Conference Tournament championships
1999, 2004, 2014, 2015
Conference Regular Season championships
1999, 2003, 2008, 2014, 2016

For information on all East Texas A&M University sports, see East Texas A&M Lions

The East Texas A&M Lions women's soccer team is the women's intercollegiate soccer program representing East Texas A&M University. The school competes in the Southland Conference (SLC) in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). For the first 27 years of existence, they competed in the Lone Star Conference of Division II. The East Texas A&M women's soccer team plays its home games at Lion Soccer Field on the university campus in Commerce, Texas. The Lions won four LSC regular season championships, three conference tournament titles, and made six appearances in the NCAA Division II Tournament. The team is currently coached by Ashley Gordon.

History

Women's soccer has been a varsity sport at East Texas A&M since the 1995 season, when the school was still known as Texas A&M–Commerce and competed as an independent. The Lions subsequently began play as an LSC member when the conference began officially sponsoring the sport in 1996. During the first three years of the program's existence, Mike Munch led A&M–Commerce to two winning seasons and two appearances in the LSC semifinals, albeit no NCAA tournament appearances.

Since beginning conference play, the Lions have won the LSC regular season title on five occasions (in 1999, 2003, 2014, and including co-championships in 2008 and 2016) and the tournament championship four times (in 1999, 2004, 2014, and 2015). East Texas A&M has also eight seven postseason appearances in the NCAA Division II Tournament, achieving their best result (an appearance in the Elite Eight) during their first campaign in 1999. The program has won all of its championships and made all of its NCAA postseason appearances during the tenure of Neil Piper, who served as head coach from 1998 to 2021.

After the 2021 season, Piper announced his resignation on December 9, 2021. Ashley Gordon was hired as the program's third head coach on January 4, 2022. During their first season in the Southland, the Lions went 7-8-1 during the regular season, finishing third in the conference. In the conference tournament, they defeated the Texas A&M–Corpus Christi Islanders in the quarterfinal round, then shocked the Northwestern State Lady Demons in the semifinal round, before eventually falling to the Lamar Lady Cardinals in the Southland Conference Championship game. This gave them a 9-9-2 record in their first season as a Division I school.

During Gordon's second season, the Lions became the first East Texas A&M sports program to have an overall winning record in a season as a Division I team, going 9-7-3. They clinched the second seed in the Southland Conference Tournament, but were eliminated in the first round by the Houston Christian Huskies.

In 2024, the Lions endured their first losing season in the Division I era, but once again qualified for the Southland Conference Tournament. They defeated the Incarnate Word Cardinals 2-1 in the quarterfinals, then took down the Texas A&M–Corpus Christi Islanders 2-1 in the semifinals, before losing to the SFA Ladyjacks 2-0 in the championship game.

All-time record

Year-by-year results through the end of the 2024 season

Stadium

Lion Soccer Field

Lion Soccer Field as it appeared during the 2014 season
Location	On Hubbell Dr and Culver St Commerce, Texas
Coordinates	33°14′17.9″N 95°54′57.8″W / 33.238306°N 95.916056°W / 33.238306; -95.916056
Owner	East Texas A&M University
Operator	East Texas A&M University
Seating type	bleacher bench
Capacity	500
Field size	115 X 72 yards
Surface	grass
Scoreboard	electronic, digital
Construction
Built	2009
Opened	September 24, 1999
Tenants
East Texas A&M University (NCAA)

Lion Soccer Field has been the home of the East Texas A&M Lions women's soccer team since 1999. The stadium seats 500 spectators with bleacher seating and has a playing surface that measures 115 yards (105 m) by 72 yards (66 m). Prior to its construction, the land on which it was built had been occupied by a botanical nursery and tennis courts.

Improvements

At the time it hosted its first game, on September 24, 1999, the venue consisted of little more than a Bermuda grass field, a scoreboard donated by a local business, and a chain-link fence around the perimeter. Over the next decade and a half, Lion Soccer Field benefited from numerous upgrades, including the addition of floodlights to enable the playing of night games (2009), a press box (2011), a permanent black metal fence to replace the chain-link fence (2013), and a new scoreboard (2014).

Post season play

In 2014, the stadium hosted both the Lone Star Conference Tournament as well as two opening-round games in the South Central Region of the NCAA Division II Tournament.

High attendance

Below is the Lions' yearly high home attendance at the Lion Soccer Field since 2010.

• Stadium capacity limited due to COVID19 precautions

References

1. "Logo Downloads - Texas A&M University-Commerce". Retrieved October 21, 2017.
2. ^ "All-time Game Results". LionAthletics.com. Texas A&M University–Commerce. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
3. ^ "2015 LSC Fall Media Guide". Lone Star Conference. 2015. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
4. Manck, Josh (December 9, 2021). "Piper resigns as head coach of Lion Soccer after 24 seasons". LionsAthletics.com. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
5. "Ashley Gordon hired as head soccer coach at Texas A&M University-Commerce". LionsAthletics.com. January 4, 2022. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
6. "No. 3 Lions collect first DI postseason win, 2–1, over No. 6 Islanders". LionAthletics.com. November 2, 2022. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
7. "Overtime thriller punches Lions' ticket to the SLC Championship Match". LionAthletics.com. November 2, 2022. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
8. "Lions fall to Lamar in Southland Tournament Championship match". LionAthletics.com. November 2, 2022. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
9. "2022 Soccer Schedule". LionAthletics.com. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
10. "2023 Soccer Schedule". LionAthletics.com. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
11. "Lions beat Cowgirls, 1-0, clinch No. 2 seed and first winning season in DI era". LionAthletics.com. October 27, 2023. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
12. "2024 Soccer Schedule". LionAthletics.com. East Texas A&M University. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
13. ^ "Lion Soccer Field". LionAthletics.com. East Texas A&M University. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
14. ^ "Texas A&M-Commerce Lions". NCAA. Retrieved September 6, 2023.

External links

• Official website

• College women's soccer teams in the United States
• Southland Conference women's soccer
• Texas A&M–Commerce Lions soccer
• Women's sports in Texas