SAN ANGELO – The Angelo State soccer team is set to compete in its second NCAA Division II South Central Championships in program history where it will play at 4 p.m. on Friday against No. 13-ranked Metro State at the Lions Soccer Field in Commerce.

The Rambelles (15-4-1) and Metro State (14-1-5) are opposing each other in the first round with eyes on advancing to play against A&M-Commerce at 1 p.m. on Sunday in the second round of the NCAA tournament. On the other side of the NCAA DII South Central region, St. Edward's and Dallas Baptist will play on Friday with that winner advancing to play top-seeded Colorado School of Mines on Sunday in Golden, Colorado. The two second-round winners from the split-South Central regionals will meet next weekend in the third round with the top seeded team earning the right to host.  

Historically speaking, ASU and Metro State have met two times with the Roadrunners owning a 2-0 record in the all-time series. The teams met for the first time in 1998 with MSU winning 4-3 and then again in 2009 with Metro State claiming a 1-0 double-overtime win. ASU is 4-0 this season with a combined score of 16-3 against Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference opponents with wins over Adams State (4-2), New Mexico Highlands (4-0), Fort Lewis (4-0) and Colorado Mesa (4-1). Metro State's only LSC opponent this season came in its season-opener against West Texas A&M where the Roadrunners claimed a 2-0 win over the Lady Buffs.

The Rambelles have outscored their opponents 48-14 this season and own a 323-176 total shots advantage and 158-92 shots on goal advantage. The Rambelles have already established multiple program records including total wins (15), consecutive unbeaten games (11), win streak (6), consecutive shutouts (7) and scoreless minutes (786). This season has also seen the Rambelles in the national polls for the first time in program history, reaching as high as No. 8 in the nation. ASU fell out of the national rankings this week after being ranked No. 20 prior to splitting at the LSC tournament. ASU will be making its second trip to the NCAA Division II regional tournament in program history and their first since 2010. The Rambelles are 3-0 in neutral field games this season and are 0-1 all-time in NCAA DII tournament play. ASU's only trip to the NCAA postseason came in 2010 when the team traveled to Austin for the tournament where they lost to Abilene Christian. That team finished its season with a 13-7-1 record and had also advanced to the regional tournament with an at-large bid.

RAMBELLE ROSTER REPORT
The Angelo State defense has been strong and ungenerous throughout the season by limiting opponents to 1.4 goals per game and only 4.6 shots on goal per game. ASU has recorded a program-best 12 shutouts this season with LSC Co-Goalkeeper of the Year Shantel Wittke having nine shutouts and sophomore Natalie Nielsen recording two shutouts. The pair of ASU goalkeepers also combined for a shutout against Southwestern Oklahoma in the regular-season finale. Wittke has 66 saves on the season and a 0.64 goals against average entering the NCAA tournament. She recorded her shutouts against New Mexico Highlands, Fort Lewis, St. Mary's, A&M-Commerce, Texas Woman's and shutout Midwestern State and West Texas A&M twice this season. A second-year player at ASU after transferring from Arkansas-Little Rock, Wittke recorded a career-high eight saves in the semifinals against ENMU last Friday.

Sierra Anderson leads Angelo State with 14 goals this season after recording the first hat trick of her career with a three-goal LSC semifinal game against ENMU last Friday. Anderson, who was selected as the LSC Co-Offensive Player of the Year, also assisted on a Brianne Brown goal in Sunday's championship game. A junior from Wichita Falls, she comes into the NCAA tournament with 23 career goals and also lead the Rambelles with 74 shots this season. Anderson ranks first in the conference and ninth in the nation with six game-winning goals and 24th in the nation with her 14 goals. She had three two-goal games this season coming against St. Mary's and twice against West Texas A&M and also scored goals against Fort Lewis, UTPB, A&M-Commerce, Texas Woman's, ENMU and Midwestern State.

Haley Mendel, an LSC first-team selection, is second on the team with seven goals and leads the team with six assists after connecting with Anderson for the third goal against the Zias. Mendel recorded the only other hat trick of the season for the Rambelles with a three-goal game earlier this season against Colorado Mesa and had a two-goal performance in the season-opener against Adams State. She also scored goals against New Mexico Highlands and Oklahoma Christian. Mendel recorded a two-assist game against Oklahoma Christian. Loni Byers has added four goals and four assists and Tiffany Dang is second on the team with five assists in their freshmen season. Byers recorded a two-goal game earlier this season against Oklahoma Christian and also scored against Highlands and UTPB. Dang had a two-assist game against St. Mary's and scored her only goal of the season in the win over Colorado Mesa.

The defensive unit has been led throughout the season by Ashley Exford, Caitlyn Conaway, Brittany Martinez, Lauren Perry and Dakota Briseno. Exford was selected as the LSC Co-Defensive Player of the Year, while Conaway earned the third LSC second-team award of her career. Conaway, Mendel and Anderson were named to the LSC All-Tournament team for their work during the two games.

Along with the defenders, the midfield has played a vital role throughout with Kathleen Keoughan, Elizabeth Rodriguez and Selena Alvarez playing strong on defense and helping the team transition into an offensive attack. Keoughan was named an LSC honorable mention selection and has scored two goals this season and five in her career, while Alvarez scored the third goal of her season in the LSC final on Sunday. Alvarez found the back of the net unassisted when she gathered the ball and went upper-shelf over the outstretch arms of the A&M-Commerce goalkeeper to tie the game 2-2 in the 67th minute. Rodriguez has three goals and one assist in her freshman season, while senior Brianne Brown has scored three goals from the forward position. Brown opened scoring for the Rambelles in the LSC final with a 38th minute goal off an assist from Anderson. Brown has added two assists this season and has four goals and five assists in her career. ASU has seen 15 players score goals this season with Exford and Cynthia Andrews having two each and Dang, Callie Smith, Conaway, Martinez and Briseno each adding one goal each to the Rambelle total. Amalia Garcia, Perry, Alvarez, Anderson and Smith each have one assist, while Andrews and Keoughan each have two assists to go along with their two goals.

ASU's roster runs deep with Chloe Contreras, Shay Williams, Molly Warren and Morgan Sibson providing the team valuable reserve minutes throughout the season. Williams, who redshirted with an injury last season, has started two games this season at defender and Contreras has played in 19 games during her sophomore season. Sibson has played in 14 games and Warren 10, while fellow freshman Lanie Bennett has appeared in two games. The Rambelles have played 10 freshmen this season, eight sophomores, three juniors and three seniors.

Angelo State is led by Travis McCorkle who is in his seventh season as the team's head coach and is a two-time Lone Star Conference Coach of the Year. He guided the program to its first regional tournament berth in 2010, to its first LSC regular-season championship in 2013 and has guided the team to its slew of historical first this season. A Colorado native, McCorkle owns a 76-48-12 record at Angelo State and is 116-95-17 in his head coaching career which includes five seasons at Eastern New Mexico before taking over at ASU in the 2008 season.

The Rambelles are 3-0 in neutral field games this season and are 0-1 all-time in NCAA DII tournament play. ASU's only trip to the NCAA postseason came in 2010 when the team traveled to Austin for the tournament where they lost to Abilene Christian. That team finished its season with a 13-7-1 record and had also advanced to the regional tournament with an at-large bid.

Angelo State enters the regional tournament ranked 19th in the nation by securing shutouts in 60 percent of its games and is 15th in the nation with its 48 total goals. ASU ranks first in the LSC in won-loss percentage (0.775), total points (128), total assists (32), scoring offense (2.40 per game) and is second in goals against average (0.687).
 
METRO STATE ROADRUNNER REPORT
The No. 13-ranked Roadrunners (14-1-5) are making their 13th straight NCAA postseason appearance and their 14th overall. A two-time NCAA DII national champion, Metro State has matched the Rambelles this season with 12 shutouts and come into Friday's game with a 33-12 goal-scoring advantage. Metro State lost 6-5 in penalty kicks to the regions No. 1-seeded Colorado School of Mines in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference championship game last Sunday in Golden, Colorado in a game which was scoreless through the first 110 minutes of play. The team advanced to its conference title game with a 3-0 win over Regis in the semifinals of the tournament. The Roadrunners, who are upperclassmen loaded compared ASU with eight seniors and seven juniors on their roster, have seen nine different players score for them this season and own a 138-104 shot advantage over their opponents.

Breanna Flores has recorded eight shutouts in goal for the Roadrunners in her freshman season and comes into Friday's game against ASU with 83 saves (.883 percent) in 1,825 minutes of play. She has also teamed up for an additional four shutouts for Metro State with fellow goalkeepers Raenna Rosales and Sam McCurley. Flores was an RMAC honorable mention selection after posting a 0.61 goals against average in the regular season. After recording two shutouts at the RMAC tournament, her goals against average dipped to 0.54.

Karisa Price, a senior forward, leads Metro State with 10 goals this season and has also added three assists. Price, who was named the RMAC Player of the Year, leads the team with 66 overall shots and 29 shots on goal this season. Abby Rolph earned first-team RMAC distinction after leading the Roadrunners with eight assists and added three goals in her senior season, while Brandi Farley and Jordan Post were second-team selections. Farley has six assists and three goals this season, while Post has added two goals from the midfield position. Tess Hagenlock added four goals and five assists and Carly Nelson had three goals as senior midfielders for Metro State. 

The Roadrunners are led by Adrianne Pietz who is in her seventh season as the team's head coach. Pietz has guided Metro State to the regional tournament in each of her seven seasons and has also claimed two RMAC regular season championships and owns a 108-26-21 overall record. She was a team captain on Metro State's 2004 national championship team and then an assistant coach when the program won the 2006 national championship.