SAN ANGELO – The No. 16 Angelo State soccer team will open the season with a match against UC-Colorado Springs on Friday, Sept. 2 at 8:30 p.m. CDT and conclude with a match on Sunday, Sept. 4 versus Adams State at 11 a.m. CDT in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The Belles are guided by head coach Travis McCorkle who became ASU's all-time winningest coach last season and are 2-0-2 in their last four season openers. McCorkle enters his ninth season just nine victories away from 100 at Angelo State. It will be the eighth time in the last nine years ASU has started on the road.
"I want to see them work very hard defensively," Angelo State head soccer coach Travis McCorkle said. "When we lose possession, I want to see them take pride in winning the ball back. I want to see us working hard off the ball to create opportunities to maintain possession and to get forward and be dangerous. We worked last week a little bit more on our attacking, which we hadn't done yet, so hopefully we'll see some results from that this weekend."
ASU starts the season ranked at No. 16 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll after going 14-4-1 last year. The Belles won the program's second Lone Star Conference regular season title and hosted a NCAA Division II Regional for the first time in school history. Angelo State is the only LSC team ranked in the top 25 of the NSCAA Preseason Poll and returns All-American and LSC Offensive Player of the Year Haley Mendel, LSC Defensive Player of the Year Ashley Exford and LSC Newcomer of the Year Demi Tsambasis along with All-LSC selections Shay Williams, Kathleen Keoughan and Tiffany Dang. The Belles also return Molly Warren, Callie Smith and Elizabeth Rodriguez who all started at least 16 games last year.
"One of the strongest attributes that I think we have to our team is the great team chemistry," McCorkle said. "The sense of ownership in the program is what the difference is. Our returning players impose their will. The way that our program is going to be, the way that they're going to train – they impose that on the new players. When that's done in the right way, you have great joining of the returners and the new players, so I think that aspect has been very good."
Mendel led ASU in goals (10) and points (23) last season and has 17 total goals in her career. The Bastrop native took 43 shots last season with 23 being on goal. Tsambasis scored six goals in her first season at Angelo State and added two assists. The duo will be joined by Dang, who added four goals, in attacking opponents this season.
Elizabeth Rodriguez and Kathleen Keoughan will patrol the midfield after both earning LSC honors a year ago. Rodriguez and Keoughan each scored a goal last season and Keoughan recorded two assists as well.
Exford, the two-time LSC Defensive Player of the Year, anchors a defense that gave up just 10 goals last season. The senior is joined by Williams, Lauren Perry and Callie Smith to help fortify the back line.
Depth will be an asset to ASU as well, with seven players receiving considerable experience last season. Cynthia Andrews, Analise Watson, Morgan Sibson, Megan Allen and Loni Byers all played in at least 14 matches while Kendall Ponce saw action nine matches as a freshman.
The Belles will have a new goalkeeper in net this season. Lauren Eshelman has the most experience playing in one match last season. Sammy Cude is a freshman from Rancho Santa Margarita, California, and Elyssia Lucio is a transfer from Dodge City Community College. All three could see action this weekend.
Several players will receive their first collegiate experience include Eryn Harrington, Kylie Deel, Laia Pujades, Peyton Walter, Cecelia Guerrero, Cassidy Leake, Trenadey Scott, Ally Warren, Jaclyn Wittke and Judith Verdaguer.
UC-Colorado Springs was 11-7-2 last year and return the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Preseason Player of the Year Michaela Mansfield. She scored nine goals and added three assists last season. Adams State finished at 7-8-3 last year with one draw being 1-1 to open the season against the Belles.
"I would have liked to have another week of preseason with the amount of new players that we have this year," McCorkle said. "All three teams are still trying to find their style because that hasn't really been defined yet."
