ASU (3-2-1) will open Lone Star Conference play at 7 p.m. on Thursday at Midwestern State (4-2-0) at the MSU Soccer Field before traveling play OC (1-4-1) at noon on Saturday at the Eagle Soccer Field. The Rambelles lead the conference with a 0.61 goals-against average and are 30th in the nation through six games this season. ASU has outscored its opponents 9-4 and outshot them 76-46 this season and has only allowed two goals in regulation all season.

The games are the second and third game in a five-game road trip for the Rambelles which will lead into a four-game home stand in mid-October.
 
RAMBELLE PLAYER SUMMARIES

Dani Edwards has continued playing at a very high level which earned her the LSC Goalkeeper of the Year award last season. A senior captain, Edwards has two individual shutouts and teamed up with sophomore goalkeeper Shantel Wittke for another this season. She has only allowed two goals in 467 minutes with one coming on a penalty kick from 12-yards out and the other on a free kick. Edwards leads the conference with a 0.39 goals against average and her .900 save percentage. She ranks 20th in the nation in goals-against and is 23rd in save percentage. She has 10 shutouts in her career at ASU.

Selena Alvarez, Kathleen Keoughan and Jenny Kotowych lead the Rambelles with two goals each. Alvarez, a sophomore from Austin, scored her second goal of the year last Sunday in the 2-0 win over St. Mary's and now has three goals in her career. Keoughan scored her first goal against New Mexico Highlands in the season opener and then her second against Wayland Baptist. Kotowych scored both of her goals in the first half against WBU.

Sierra Anderson leads ASU with 17 shots this season and scored her first goal of the year against St. Mary's. Anderson, who scored two goals last season as a freshman, scored in the first half against the Rattlers. Brianne Brown, a junior midfielder, also has a goal this season for ASU after heading in a goal against Colorado Mesa. Kelli Regan, a freshman midfielder, leads the team with two assists.

Defensively, Caitlyn Conaway, Jordan Benfield, Brittany Martinez, Lauren Perry and Trisha Killen have all combined to stifle opponents throughout the season.
 
COACH QUOTES

Head coach Travis McCorkle (53-41-15 record in 6th year at ASU, 93 overall career wins)

On the Rambelles' LSC opener against Midwestern State on Thursday:
"They'll try to play one side and swing it over to the other side. They are going to be very athletic and fast with a lot of energy with it being the first conference game and at home for them at night. I'm sure it will be a great environment."

On the Rambelles' final non-conference game of the regular season against OC:
"Our other in-region games we've gone into double overtime and lost so this is our last opportunity to get an in-region, non-conference win. We have to get a result in that game, as well."

On ASU's emphasis this week in practice:
"We have to continue working on our finishing and set good habits defensively. For us, it's about doing the things we've been doing and then doing them better than we have been."

On the Rambelles' 2-0 win last Sunday against St. Mary's:
"I think for us it always starts with good defending. Dani did a good job in goal again getting the shutout and our defenders and midfielders did their job. I thought Brittany (Martinez) had a good game as well. She was probably our best defender in the first half. From there it's just about getting forward and trying to solve St. Mary's system. They were playing in a 4-5-1 and it took us some time to get it sorted out, but overall it was a good performance and win for us."
 
Angelo State at Midwestern State Mustangs (7 p.m. on Thursday)
The Rambelles will open Lone Star Conference play on the road this season with a game against Midwestern State on Thursday before hosting the Mustangs on Friday, Nov. 1 in the regular-season finale. MSU comes into the game with a 4-2-0 record and a three-game winning streak with victories over Rogers State, East Central Oklahoma and Oklahoma Christian. Ashley Cottrell, a sophomore forward from Arlington, leads the Mustangs this season with three goals and two assists, while Kensli Pounds (sophomore from Mansfield) has two goals on 12 shots. Katy Catney leads the team with 20 shots and goalkeeper Kallie Essary has 26 saves and two shutouts. Essary is a senior goalkeeper from Carrollton who is seeing every day action for the first time in her collegiate career at MSU.

ASU is 6-12-6 all-time against MSU, including going 0-1-1 against them last season. The Mustangs were 6-0-2 in the all-time series over the Rambelles before ASU snapped the losing streak on Oct. 5, 2001. Midwestern State is coming off a 7-10-3 overall record last season, including a 6-5-3 record in LSC play.  MSU knocked out Abilene Christian in the first round of the LSC tournament before falling to West Texas A&M in the semifinals. Jeff Trimble is entering his 16th season on the MSU sidelines and has led the Mustangs to conference titles in 2011, 2010 and 1998.The Mustangs return first-team all-LSC performers in Cottrell and midfielder Payton Fookes.
 
Angelo State at Oklahoma Christian Eagles (Noon on Saturday)
ASU and Oklahoma Christian will meet for only the second time and the first since the Rambelles earned a 1-0 win in the 1998 season. The Eagles, who are 1-4-1 going into a Wednesday game against Southwestern Christian before playing ASU, went 3-13 last season playing a Heartland Conference dominated schedule in a year of transition to the NCAA DII level. Randall Robison is in his sixth season as the head coach at Oklahoma Christian.

The game is the final non-conference contest of the regular season for the Rambelles.
 
UP NEXT
The Rambelles will continue playing on the road next week with LSC games at Texas A&M-Commerce and Texas Woman's. ASU will take on the Lions at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 4 before taking on the Pioneers at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 6.