Nov. 4, 2003

The West Texas A&M University women's soccer team enters the Lone Star Conference Tournament this weekend at Wichita Falls, Texas, on a hot streak, as the Lady Buffs have recorded six-straight shutouts on their way to an eight-game unbeaten streak. WTAMU has tallied six wins, including four in a row, and two ties in that span. The Lady Buffs have outscored their opposition 26-2 in that stretch as well.

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WTAMU will open the conference tournament on Friday, Nov. 7 as the No. three seed and will take on sixth-seeded Angelo State at 5 p.m. If the Lady Buffs win, they will advance to the semifinals where they'll meet defending tournament champion and second-seeded Central Oklahoma on Saturday at 5 p.m., in a rematch of Friday's 2-0 WTAMU victory. The championship game is Sunday at 3 p.m. All matches are on the campus of Midwestern State University.

The Teams

The Lady Buffs are 11-3-2 overall, 6-1-2 in LSC action, after upsetting No. 14 Central Oklahoma, 2-0 on Friday, as WTAMU recorded its sixth-straight shutout and ran its unbeaten streak to eight games. The Lady Buffs are ranked No. 25 in the NSCAA/adidas Top 25 Poll and sixth in the NCAA-II Midwest Region rankings.

Angelo State is 10-7-2 overall, 4-3-2 in LSC play, after losing to Northeastern State, 3-2 in overtime on Sunday. The loss stopped the Rambelles' seven-game unbeaten streak. ASU recorded five shutouts in that span.

Central Oklahoma is 15-3-2 overall, 7-2 in LSC action, and ranked No. 20 in the NSCAA/adidas Top 25 Poll. UCO is ranked third in the NCAA-II Midwest Region rankings. After Friday's loss to WTAMU, the Bronchos bounced back to beat Eastern New Mexico, 6-0, Sunday. UCO had a 13-game win streak snapped by a 1-0 loss to Texas Woman's on Oct. 25.

The Coaches

WTAMU head coach Butch Lauffer (Texas Christian University, 1985) is in his eighth year at the helm of the Lady Buffs and his 13th year directing the men's program. Lauffer has compiled a 105-36-7 (.733) career-record as WTAMU's women's coach.

Lauffer received the LSC Women's Coach of the Year award in 1996 and 2001. Under Lauffer's direction, WTAMU has won either the Lone Star Conference regular season or Tournament title five times in seven years, winning both in 2001. That year, the Lady Buffs made their first-ever NCAA-II national tournament appearance. WTAMU made a second consecutive NCAA-II national tournament appearance in 2002 after winning its second-straight LSC regular season crown.

Angelo State is coached by Tom Brown (Midwestern State, 1989). Brown is in his seventh year as head coach for the Belles and 11th year as a collegiate head coach. He has a 53-59-12 (.476) record at ASU and a 93-84-16 (.523) overall record.

Central Oklahoma is coached by Mike Cook (Southern Nazarene). Cook took over as head coach when the team began the program in 1998. In the past five years has tallied an overall record of 485-45-2 (.912).

Region Rankings

WTAMU is ranked sixth in the latest NCAA-II Midwest Regional Rankings. The rankings include the top teams in each of the eight regions, with records through October 26, 2003. Championship selections will take place November 10.

The region rankings, which determine who makes the region tournament, Nov. 13-15 at the highest seed. {Complete Region Rankings}

About the Lady Buffs

WTAMU is led by freshman forward Sarit Shenar who has 15 goals on the year so far, along with four assists. Since her return from the European Championship, after missing two games, Shenar has scored five goals. Shenar leads the Lady Buffs in goals and points.

Sophomore forward Whitney Cates has also played well this season, scoring seven goals and seven assists. Cates has capitalized numerous times with fellow forward Shenar and contributed to the Lady Buffs spurt of goals in the last four games.

Junior goalkeeper Jamie Griffis earned her eighth shutout of the season last Friday against Central Oklahoma, to extend her LSC record to 33 career shutouts. Griffis has stopped 62 shots and allowed only 11 goals. Her goals against average entering the post season is 0.67.

The Lady Buffs have a strong defensive core that is made up of seniors Kellie Garrett, Chrissy Arndt, Carianne Skinner, and freshman Cassie Burke. These players will try to continue their streak of six games without allowing a goal.

About the Opposition

The Angelo State Rambelles finished the regular season with an overall record of 10-7-2 and 4-3-2 in Lone Star Conference action. ASU completed its season with a 3-2 overtime loss to Northeastern State on Sunday in its final conference match-up. This game marked the fourth time the Belles have gone into overtime this season and the third time they came out on the losing end. The fourth overtime game was against WTAMU, which ended in a 0-0 draw.

The Belles outshot their opponents 315-220 this season as well as outscoring them 43-21. The Belles finish the season in the mid-range of all the LSC team statistics.

ASU's offense is led by freshman forward Shana Brown who leads the team and is seventh in the LSC with 10 goals, has four assists for 24 points (eighth in the LSC in pts.) Four of Brown's goals have been game-winning goals and places her tied for third in the LSC in that category.

The Belles have an all-round offense as they have three more players with six or more goals this season.

ASU is ranked fifth in the LSC statistics with 18 goals allowed and a 1.03 goals against average. Leading that effort is junior goalkeeper Lisa Carey. Carey has played 15 games, allowing 16 goals with a 1.06 goals against average. She is tied for fifth in the LSC with 61 saves and is third in the LSC with five shutouts.

Central Oklahoma is 15-3-2 overall, 7-2 in LSC action, and ranked No. 20 in the NSCAA/adidas Top 25 Poll. UCO is ranked third in the NCAA-II Midwest Region rankings. UCO completed its season on Nov. 2 with a commanding 6-0 victory over LSC-newcomer Eastern New Mexico. Central Oklahoma started the season slowly with a loss and two ties before registering a school record 13-game winning streak this season. The streak ended Oct. 25 when UCO was defeated by Texas Women's in a 1-0 contest. Following the TWU loss, UCO suffered its final loss of the season six days later against WTAMU.

Central Oklahoma has dominated its opponents this season as they have outshot them 330-142, outscored them 44-14 and have only had to record 63 saves, while firing off 130 shots on goal.

The Bronchos are led by freshman midfielder Audri Habibi with 10 goals and two assists for 22 points. Three of Habibi's goals have been game-winning goals, tying her for fifth in the LSC for that category. Senior midfielder Valerie Gutierrez, this season's LSC preseason offensive player of the year favorite, has tallied seven goals, five assists for 19 points this season. Gutierrez is tied for 10th place for goals in the LSC.

UCO is strong defensively with senior goal keeper Melissa Penn registering a 0.84 goals against average with a .821 save percentage. Penn is tied for fourth in the LSC with four shutouts and a 0.33 shutout per game average. Freshman goalkeeper Jennifer Wehr has also seen some action playing four games and gaining two shutouts placing her seventh in the LSC.

-WT-