The Eastern New Mexico women’s soccer team is set to host a pair of matches this week for Homecoming as the Greyhounds will host No. 15 West Texas A&M on Wednesday at 7 p.m. and then take on Midwestern State on Friday at noon.

LAST TIME OUT
The Hounds (5-4-2, 3-2-1 Lone Star Conference) split a pair of match this past week. ENMU fell 4-0 at Angelo State on Oct. 5, but was able to rebound with a 1-0 victory in double overtime against UT-Permian Basin.

In the ASU match, the Hounds gave up a pair of goals midway through the first half and could not overcome the deficit as the Rams added some insurance goals in the second half. Despite the score differential, the Hounds were able to outshoot the Rams in the contest 14-13, including a 7-6 edge in shots on-goal, but unfortunately could not find the back of the net on any of their attempts.

Against UTPB, the Hounds offense was assertive, outshooting the Falcons 22-4, including an 11-2 edge in shots on-goal. However, Eastern could not get anything past the UTPB goalkeeper during regulation, forcing a pair of overtime periods. In the second OT period, the Falcons were called for a foul near the top of the goal box with just over two minutes to go in the overtime period. In the 108th minute, senior Bailey Bosley’s free kick bounced off the shoulder of sophomore midfielder Victoria Nuñez inside the box and Keyara Zuniga knocked in the game-winner inside the far post to give the Hounds the 1-0 victory. With the victory, Eastern snapped a four-match losing streak at UT-Permian Basin as their last win in Odessa came on Sept. 9, 2007 in a 2-1 victory.

SCOUTING THE LADY BUFFS
West Texas A&M enters Wednesday’s match as the 15th-ranked team in NCAA Division II and the top team in the LSC with a 10-1-1 overall record and a 5-0-1 mark in LSC play. Last week, the Lady Buffs defeated UT-Permian Basin 7-0 on Oct. 5 and followed it up with a scoreless draw at Angelo State to remain undefeated in LSC play.

WTAMU leads the conference in scoring average (2.667) and opponent scoring average (0.50) as the Lady Buffs have outscored their opponents 32-6 in 12 matches this season.

Leading the West Texas A&M attack is junior forward Khaline Jacob, who leads the LSC with 10 goals scored and 21 points. The Hounds will also need to look to contain sophomore forward Hannah Kelley-Lusk, who leads the conference in points per game average (2.22) and assists (6), second in total points (20), and third in goals scored (7).

The Hounds will be challenged on the offensive end as well as they will be going up against a Lady Buffs defense that has only conceded six goals in 12 matches. Senior goalkeeper Courtney Dippel leads the LSC in goals against average (.491), save percentage (.900), and shutouts (7).

HISTORY WITH THE LADY BUFFS
The Lady Buffs lead the all-time series against the Hounds 15-4-3. The two teams faced each other back on Sept. 26 in Canyon, Texas as the Hounds fell to the Lady Buffs 3-1. However, the last time the two teams faced each other in Portales was on Oct. 25, 2017 when the Hounds pulled out a 1-1 draw against WTAMU. In that match, Eastern got the equalizer in the 88th minute to force overtime.

SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS
Midwestern State currently holds a 2-6-2 overall record and a 1-3-1 record in LSC play. Last week, the Mustangs hosted Texas Woman’s and played the Pioneers to a scoreless draw.
MSU comes into the week ranked second to last in the LSC in scoring margin (-0.60) and goals scored (10).

The Midwestern attack is led by freshman midfielder Senna Garcia, who has a team-leading three goals and seven points. Forwards Avery Lewis and Madison Williams have each scored two goals apiece for the Mustangs as those three players have combined to score seven of the 10 MSU goals this season.

In goal, freshman goalkeeper Samantha Upton has started most of MSU’s matches this season, as she has made nine starts and has a 2-6-1 record in net with 41 saves and a 0.719 save percentage. However, the Hounds could see sophomore McKenna Williams in net as she got her first start of the season in last week’s match against Texas Woman’s. In that match, she picked up the draw as she made 11 saves in 110 minutes of play.

HISTORY WITH THE MUSTANGS
The Mustangs lead the all-time series 15-5-3 against the Hounds. However, Eastern is 3-0-1 in the last four meetings with MSU, including a three-match win streak.

The last time the two teams met was back on Sept. 30 when the Hounds went into Wichita Falls, Texas and came away with a 2-1 victory. In that match, the Hounds rallied from a goal down in the second half as Kierra Diaz scored the equalizer in the 69th minute and Charlotte Collins-Blaize fired in the game-winner in the 74th minute for her first goal of the season.

In last season’s match in Portales, the two teams played to a scoreless draw after two overtimes.

WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER
With Zuniga scoring the game-winner against UT-Permian Basin last week, she became the third Greyhound to notch a game-winner this season. The first was scored by freshman forward Anahi Hernandez in the 72nd minute in a 2-1 victory over Adams State back on Sept. 9. The Hounds second game-winner came off the foot of Collins-Blaize in Eastern’s last matchup with Midwestern State.

HOUNDING THE GOALKEEPER
Through 11 matches this season, the Greyhounds rank second in the Lone Star Conference, averaging 8.09 shot on-goal per game. The only team in the LSC that ranks higher is their opponent tomorrow, as the Lady Buffs average 10.17 shots on-goal per match. The matchup will also feature two of the most accurate shooting teams in the LSC as the Lady Buffs and the Hounds are currently the only two teams that are putting 50% or more of their shots on-goal.