SAN ANGELO – A mix of experienced players and an infusion of young talent are set to emerge from nearly three weeks of preseason training on Thursday for the start of the 2012 Angelo State soccer season.

The Rambelles, who have advanced to the postseason the past two seasons, are coming off a 2011 campaign where four games ended in ties and the final contest resulted in a penalty-kick loss in the Lone Star Conference tournament.

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The 2012 team, with five seniors, five juniors, two sophomores and eight freshmen, are a group that has shown defensive dominance in their preseason scrimmages and flashes of offensive skill which could turn ties and narrow losses into victories. The team will be tested early on, facing three teams which are NCAA Division II tournament experienced and a Texas-Permian Basin team which finished last season strong despite a 5-0 loss to the Rambelles early in the season.

"The mentality for us going into this first game has to be that we are 0-0 and that this is a completely different team that we are playing," ASU head coach Travis McCorkle said. "Last year's result cannot be anything that we look at or think about. We have to take them very seriously. We have to establish good habits and approach it without any thought of last year. If we are winning, we have to play for a shutout. If we are losing, we have to fight to get back and earn a win. It's going to be a tough test for us."

AngeloSports.com talked with McCorkle about his the upcoming season and his expectations for the team and individual players. McCorkle is entering his 10th season as a head coach – including the last four at Angelo State. He is 39-32-7 as the Rambelles head coach and has led ASU to the postseason the past two years including to the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history in 2010.
 
On the Rambelles strengths and weaknesses going into the season:
I think the consistent theme of the preseason has been our strong defending ability. It has been solid with a good group of returners in the midfield and in the back. The thing that we are going to need to work on is scoring. Even with the number of goals we scored in our scrimmages, the competition we're about to see is going to really challenge us to capitalize on scoring opportunities.
 
On what the Rambelles can accomplish this season:
It's hard to say where we'll finish in the conference race, but the ability level I see in our players is very high. I expect a lot from our performances every time we run out onto the field. I feel very positive about our team and the potential we have to win games this season. We have to take that ability and turn it into strong performances against strong teams. I think our team defending is much better than last season and we have the capability to score more goals which will win us more games.
 
On the Rambelles goalkeeping:
Dani (Danielle Edwards) will have to find her footing early in the season. She is an inexperienced goalkeeper who hasn't played in many games. She is a very mature player though and has meshed with the team very well. She came right into this team with a tremendous attitude and mindset that she belongs on the field. She has incorporated herself into the leadership of this team and is working on many aspects of goalkeeping to make herself a very good keeper. She is our starter right now but every week we are evaluating our positions. Natalie (Nielsen) has performed really well in the preseason and will push Dani to continue getting better.
 
On the Rambelles midfield which includes senior captains Lauren Carnes and Hanna Horeis:
We need more goals from our midfielders. They need to be more opportunistic and capitalize on their chances. I think in the past they have passed off to others, but this year I'm challenging them to get more goals. Whether it's Lauren Carnes getting goals from set pieces or Hanna (Horeis) getting goals from distance or from corner kicks from her heading, they need to step it up. They are senior midfielders and should be the heartbeat of the team.
 
On junior Maggie Schaffer who is the top returning goal scorer (6):
Maggie has a tremendous amount of fight within her. We need her to continue to present problems to other teams. She needs to continually be mobile and make it difficult for other teams to contain her. She also needs to do better with her finishing chances. She showed last year that she can be a goal scorer.
 
On senior captain Karli Maxey's role on the defensive side of the field:
Karli needs to continue to make our organization better. She is very good at finding the correct supporting angles. As with all players, there are small ways she can continue to improve.
 
On freshman Selena Alvarez who has shown toughness throughout the preseason:
Physically, she is a very imposing player. She is not intimidated by anyone and has shown us that she will mix it up with anyone. That is tremendous to see from a freshman. Tactically she has some things to work on, but she's had a great start during the preseason.
 
On freshmen who have impressed throughout preseason training:
Ashley Exford has found a spot at left midfield. She does everything I've asked from a defensive standpoint, but we still want her to become a stronger attacker. She has the ability to get assists with her speed and skills. Shay (Williams) came in and has shown she can add to our team right away. Sierra Anderson is doing a good job for our offense. Once she understands our patterns, she has the ability to get goals for us. All the freshman have impressed me so far and I think will contribute this season.
 
On hosting New Mexico Highlands at 5 p.m. on Saturday in the home opener:
I've been told they are a very physical team and we are going to have to be ready to match them. We have to move the ball faster to get them away from the physicality that they like to play with.
 
On the Rambelles' four-game, non-conference regional matchups:
These four games present an opportunity for us. Regional rankings are one of the ways that you can get into the national tournament. In order to do that, you have to have a strong non-conference, in-region record. We play Fort Lewis which has been to the Elite Eight and then Mesa State who made the tournament last year. New Mexico Highlands made the tournament in 2010. We have a very strong non-conference schedule which should help prepare us for our conference schedule.