LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (3-2) at
No. 5 WEST TEXAS A&M (5-0)
Saturday, Sept. 25 – 5 p.m.
The Pitch – Canyon, Texas
 
CHAPARRAL HEADERS

• The Chaps have won back-to-back games for the first time this season after beating CSU-Pueblo and Oklahoma Christian. They last won two straight March 13 & 16 in the spring 2021 season
• Saturday's game, like the one played on Wednesday against Oklahoma Christian, is a non-conference game. LCU will also play Midwestern State in non-conference action on Sept. 29
• Lubbock Christian is allowing an average of just 1.20 goals per game and has shut out three opponents so far this year. The goals against average ranks fourth in the LSC
• West Texas A&M is the No. 5 ranked team in the country according to the United Soccer Coaches poll. On Wednesday, they won a home match against No. 10-ranked Midwestern State
• Fernando Flores added his seventh point of the season with a corner kick assist on Wednesday, and the seven points are good for fifth in the conference

 
FIRST THINGS FIRST
In Wednesday's win over Oklahoma Christian, Jacopo Ghezzi opened the scoring just 10 minutes into the game to give the Chaps an early lead. It was the second time this season that LCU has scored in the first 15 minutes of play (Tariq Bakkali at 9:24 vs. Adams State). They are 3-0 when scoring first this year, 2-0 when leading at halftime and 13-6 in since the start of 2019 when getting the first goal. Conversely, they are 0-2 when their opponents score first in 2021 and 2-7-2 when allowing the first goal since the 2019 season.
 
BALANCED ATTACK
With Ghezzi scoring the opening goal on Wednesday and Ivan Muanze-Bengono netting the second goal, the Chaparrals have now gotten goals from seven different players during the 2021 season. Fernando Flores and Luciano Rodriguez are the only two LCU players with multiple goals (two each), but Bakkali, Ezequiel Fidabel and Kevin Mejias have all found the back of the net as well. Hector Rodriguez-Cabo is also tied for the team lead with seven shots on goal but has not yet scored this season.
 
GOOSE-EGGS
Lubbock Christian now has three shutouts on the season, which already matches their season total from the spring 2021 season. The Chaps have limited opponents to an average of 11.8 shots per game or 59 total shots, but only 33.9 percent of those (20) have been on goal. The most shutouts in a single season in LCU program history is eight, which they did in both 2013 and 2011. Under head coach Paul Gilbert, the Chaps' best was six shutouts in 2016, when they limited opponents to 1.61 goals per game overall.
 
ON THE MARK
Although they enter the weekend with the second-fewest shots in the Lone Star Conference with 58, the Chaps have been very efficient with their chances. Of the 58 shots, 58.6 percent of them have been on goal – a good enough percentage that LCU is third in the league in shots on goal per game with a mark of 6.80. Rodriguez and Rodriguez-Cabo co-lead the team with seven shots on goal each, but another 10 Chaparral players have at least one. There are still a lot of games left to be played, but the .586 shots on goal percentage would be the highest by the Chaps under Gilbert.
 
RIVALRY ON THE RANGE
When Lubbock Christian and West Texas A&M meet on Saturday, it will be the first matchup in the Rivalry on the Range series for the 2021-22 school year. Announced on August 6, 2019, the Rivalry on the Range is a year-long competition including 15 sports in which the two schools will compete against one another. The Rivalry on the Range series scoring components will include head-to-head battles in men's soccer, women's soccer, volleyball, men's basketball, women's basketball, baseball and softball, with additional points available in postseason play. Fans can review the scoring system and follow the standings on rivalryontherange.com.
 
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
After three straight games at their home field, LCU will head back out on the road for the next two games. The Chaps are 1-1 on the road so far this season with the win coming at Adams State 3-0. Lubbock Christian does have two road wins over West Texas A&M in program history. They took down the Buffs 2-1 in overtime in 2018 on a goal by Emilio Marti and won 3-2 in 2015 with Kwame Adu-Wusu scoring the game-winner in the 87^th minute. The last time LCU had a winning record on the road for a full season was 2018 when they were 5-4-1.
 
SCOUTING THE BUFFS

• West Texas A&M claimed the Lone Star Conference title in the shortened, spring 2021 season, and they were picked to win the league again in the 2021 LSC Preseason Poll
• The Buffs are second in the LSC in offense with an average of 3.00 goals per game, but they also have the third-worst goals against average in the conference at 1.40. Only UT Permian Basin (2.71) and Texas A&M-International (1.83) have allowed more goals per game
• Giancarlo Saldana is a big reason for WT's offensive prowess, leading the LSC in both points (17) and goals (7). He has claimed the league's Offensive Player of the Week award each of the last two weeks
• Tom Miles has handled the majority of the goalkeeping duties so far this year, playing in all five games, including four starts. He has a save percentage of .667 and five goals allowed
• WT is first in the league in both shots per game (17.60) and shots on goal per game (8.60)

 
A WIN ON SATURDAY WOULD

• Be the 95th win in program history (94-77-21)
• Be the 36th win in head coach Paul Gilbert's career (35-43-9)
• Be Lubbock Christian's sixth win over West Texas A&M since the all-time series began in 2013 (5-7-0)