CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A pair of first half goals was enough to send No. 3 Texas A&M-Commerce through to the Southland Soccer Championship Semifinals as they knocked off No. 6 UIW, 2-1, on Thursday afternoon at Dugan Soccer Field.

The win sends the Lions through to the semifinals for the second time in the last three seasons, where they will await the winner of No. 2 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and No. 7 Lamar. 

Set pieces were a key in the first half for the Lions as they opened the scoring in the 24th minute with a Nia Chacon corner into the box that found Kaydence Ramirez. The Cardinals could just barely clear the Ramirez shot away, but Kristen Sueltz was there for the putback to put A&M-Commerce ahead.

A&M-Commerce struck again in the 39th minute as Chacon again sent a corner kick into the box that found Ramirez, who this time finished in the back of the net as the Southland Player of the Year pushed the lead to 2-0. 

The Lions continued to hold an advantage going into the second half, but UIW was able to control their opponents' attack to keep the deficit at two.

In the 74th minute, Melissa Bailey found a crease and sent a beautiful ball towards the net that just went begging off the post, but Zara Dominguez followed that shot with a shot on target to cut the deficit in half and give UIW life. 

The Cardinals went into a total attack mode, looking for an equalizer, but the Lion defense stiffened and held on for the victory. 

Texas A&M-Commerce returns to the semifinals since their first season in the Southland in 2022. The Lions would advance to the Southland Championship Game that season.