WOMEN'S SOCCER: ENMU is sixth in LSC poll

RICHARDSON, Texas — Perhaps it will serve as motivation for the Eastern New Mexico women’s soccer team. The Lady Greyhounds were projected for sixth place in the 2017 Lone Star Conference women’s soccer preseason poll released Wednesday.

The Lady ’Hounds earned 38 total points. Only UT Permian Basin was ranked lower, picked for seventh with 31 points. ENMU and Texas Woman’s (fifth, 72 points) were the only LSC teams not receiving any first-place votes, which could make it that much sweeter if the ’Hounds succeed this year.

Texas A&M-Commerce is the narrow favorite. The defending co-champions captured nine of the 21 first-place votes for 127 total points to rank in front of West Texas A&M, who shared the LSC title with the Lions last season. The Lady Buffs were second with six first-place votes and 119 points.

Midwestern State ranked third with 114 points and four first-place votes. Angelo State was fourth (87 points and one first-place vote).

The Lady Greyhounds open their season on Sept. 1 by hosting Fort Lewis at noon, and will quickly follow that with a 1 p.m. home game against Adams State on Sept. 3.

The seven LSC teams will play each other twice during the regular season, with the results of those contests to be used in determining the seeds for a six-team postseason conference tournament. This year’s tournament quarterfinals will be held on Nov. 1, with the semifinals and final at the No. 1 seed Nov. 3-5.

LSC Women’s Soccer preseason honors announced

Three Lone Star Conference women’s soccer standouts were selected for 2017 preseason honors.

Midwestern State’s Destinee Williamson was tabbed Offensive Player of the Year. West Texas A&M’s Khadisha Debesette earned Defensive Player of the Year honors, and Texas A&M-Commerce’s Caitlin Duty was named Goalkeeper of the Year.

The league’s preseason awards were chosen by a vote of LSC head coaches and sports information directors, plus various media representatives from throughout the region.

Williamson, a senior forward from Bedford, Texas, earned NSCAA All-South Central Region and first-team All-LSC acclaim after leading the Mustangs with 23 points and 10 goals in 23 appearances and 17 starts on the season. She ranked second in the league and 15th in NCAA Division II with five game-winning goals.

Debesette, a junior defender from Rousillac, Trinidad & Tobago, earned first team All-LSC honors as part of a backline that produced four shutouts. She started 14 matches with two game-winning goals and a pair of assists.

Duty, a junior goalkeeper from Crandall, Texas, was second-team All-LSC starting all 22 games with a league-best 15 goals allowed. The Academic All-LSC selection had 88 saves and led the conference in save percentage (.854) and shutouts (11).