Oct. 4, 2006

CANYON, Texas - A busy weekend is on tap for the West Texas A&M men's and women's soccer teams, as they play a pair of doubleheaders on Friday and Sunday at Kimbrough Memorial Stadium. The action will begin first for the Lady Buffs on Friday; at 1 p.m. against East Central, while the Buffaloes will try to get back on track when they host St. Mary's following the women's contest.

Saturday, the WTAMU women's soccer team got back to its winning ways, as it defeated Dixie State 4-2, on the strength of goals by sophomore Elisabeth Markussen (Borkup, Denmark), senior Sarit Shenar (Rehovot, Israel), freshman Kendal Kitchens (Lubbock, Texas) and sophomore Megan Szydloski (Amarillo, Texas). Kitchens' goal in the second half proved to be the game-winner in the 72nd minute, while freshman Adi Stein (Desher, Israel) was credited with two assists in the match.

The history between WTAMU and Lone Star Conference foe East Central has been one sided, as the Lady Buffs have outscored the Tigers 20-0 since 2000. ECU has scored just four goals since series began in 1997, with three of the goals scored in 1999 during a double overtime match.

On Sunday, the Lady Buffs will be back on the field against another LSC rival, Northeastern State. WTAMU holds the advantage in the all-time series over NSU 8-2 and has outscored the Lady Redmen 18-3 since rivalry began in 1997. NSU has been shutout by the Lady Buffs in four straight seasons, dating back to 2002.

The three-match losing streak for the men started in the loss to Midwestern State at home on Sept 22. WTAMU scored only one goal in two matches over the weekend, with the Buffs being shutout by Colorado School of Mines, 1-0, a team that WTAMU had not lost to since 2002. Sunday, the Buffs avoided the shutout to No.1 Fort Lewis, with a goal in the final minute and half on a penalty kick by junior Kenneth Christensen (Hendensted, Denmark).

The men will try to stop the bleeding on Friday, against St. Mary's a rematch from Sept. 11, where the Buffs defeated the Rattlers 7-0 in San Antonio. Junior Rene Gomez (Houston, Texas) tallied for four goals in the victory.

The final match of the weekend for WTAMU will be against Regis (Colo.) on Sunday. The all-time record between the two teams is tied 3-3-2. The last time Regis and WTAMU met was in 2004, when the Buffaloes won 2-1 over the Rangers in Canyon.

A loss for the Buffaloes against St. Mary's would match their longest losing streak in school history, as WTAMU opened up the 1992 season 0-4.