By Wes Bloomquist  ||  wes.bloomquist@angelo.edu

SAN ANGELO – A pair of freshmen connected with Dakota Briseno going top shelf for a goal off an assist from Tiffany Dang in the 53rd minute of play and the Angelo State defense recorded its sixth straight shutout as the No. 10-ranked Rambelles earned a 1-0 Lone Star Conference win over Texas Woman's on Sunday at the ASU Soccer Complex.

The Rambelles (9-0-1, 2-0-1 LSC) wrapped up a six-game home stand with the win which saw Briseno become the 15th goal scorer on the team through the first 10 games and Shantel Wittke earn her sixth shutout and ASU's eighth shutout of the season. ASU's defense has not allowed a goal in the last 660 minutes dating back to a Colorado Mesa goal in the fourth minute of play in a 4-1 Rambelle win on Sept. 13. The Rambelles finished their six-game home stand with a 5-0-1 record and outscored their opponents 17-0 during those games. 

"For us to come out and finish off the home stand with a win was a good statement from our team," ASU head coach Travis McCorkle said. "We're at the halfway point of the season and you can tell that our team is a little tired right now so for them to fight through that and earn a win was really exciting to see."

Wittke recorded three saves in the game with one in the first half and two in the final 45 minute. The Rambelles owned a 16-7 shot advantage throughout the game, including an 8-4 advantage in the second half. Dang recorded her team-leading fourth assist of the season with her connection with Briseno in the eighth minute of the second half. McCorkle said the team received strong defensive play from Wittke, Ashley Exford, Caitlyn Conaway and Briseno. Exford and Conaway each played the entire 90 minutes against the Pioneers (7-3-1, 1-2-1 LSC) along with Wittke in goal for the duration of the game.

"I thought we did a better job in the second half once we negated the TWU player in the back with a halftime adjustment," McCorkle said. "We did a great job of limiting their chances and their quality shot chances."

Already with a season full of historical firsts, the Rambelles have established a new program mark with their six straight shutouts. The previous record came in the 2008 season when the team had two wins and two scoreless ties during a four-game stretch. ASU also extended the record for longest streak without a loss and are nationally ranked for the first time in program history. The all-time program record for shutouts stands at nine which was established by ASU teams in 2003, 2008 and 2010.  ASU's eight shutouts this season matches last year's total for the second best mark. 

Haley Mendel led the Rambelles with four shots in the game, while Sierra Anderson had three and Exford and Brianne Brown each sent two shots towards TWU goalkeeper Ariana Morrison who finished the game with seven saves.  ASU has now outscored its opponents 33-3 this season and have a 173-71 shot advantage through the first 10 games of the season.

Angelo State returns to action next week with a northern road trip to play at West Texas A&M (4-6, 1-2) on Friday and then at Eastern New Mexico on Sunday. Through two weeks of LSC play, the Rambelles lead the conference standings with seven points with their wins over TWU and A&M-Commerce along with their scoreless draw against Midwestern State (5-1-5, 0-1-2 LSC). ENMU (5-4, 2-1 LSC) and A&M-Commerce (7-4, 2-2 LSC) are currently tied for second with six conference points and TWU slipped to fourth with its loss in San Angelo. The Lions bounced back from their double-overtime loss to the Rambelles on Friday with a 2-1 overtime win over MSU on Sunday.