Soccer | 9/13/2016 11:37:00 AM
SAN ANGELO -- The Angelo State soccer team hits the road again this week on Wednesday, Sept. 14 and Friday, Sept. 16 in Colorado for the final two non-conference games before Lone Star Conference play begins.
The Belles (3-0-1) have played through their first four games of the season without a loss for the third straight season after a scoreless draw with Fort Collins and a 2-0 win against New Mexico Highlands this weekend at home.
Colorado Mesa will be the first opponent the Belles face this trip on Wednesday at 3 p.m., followed by a matchup with Western State Colorado Friday at 3 p.m. The Belles are 2-0 on the road so far this season, defeating two other Colorado schools in UCCS and Adams State during the opening weekend of the season.
"I think one of the keys for us has been Ashley Exford," ASU head soccer coach Travis McCorkle said. "She's been one of our captains the last two years and learned how to teach other players how to defend and be a good center back. She gets a lot of the credit along with our freshman goalkeeper Sammy Cude, but overall a good performance from the team this weekend defensively."
Exford led the Angelo State defense to two more shutouts this weekend, pushing the Belles' to three overall. The Belles confounded the opposition Friday night, allowing only seven shots with only one coming on goal in their matchup with Fort Lewis, and they prevented New Mexico Highlands from getting off more than eight shots with five coming on goal in the Sunday match as well.
Shay Williams, Molly Warren, Lauren Perry and Callie Smith help fortify the ASU back line, which has allowed only one goal on the season and has shut out opposing teams for 350 consecutive minutes since allowing the one goal.
Goalkeeper Sammy Cude earned both the shutouts in the weekend matches with the wins. The California native made one save against Fort Lewis and five against New Mexico Highlands which brought her total to 12 on the season. She kept her save percentage at 1.000, which is tied with 13 others for first in the nation
Demi Tsambasis continued her hot offensive start to the season, adding one more goal on Sunday against Highlands. The goal brought her season total to five, which is only one less than the senior from Temecula, California scored in all of the 2015 season. Tsambasis is tied for fifth in the nation in game-winning goals and leads the conference in that category. She also leads the conference in total goals.
Another attacking threat for the Belles is freshman Treneday Scott, who scored their first goal of the season just three minutes into the opening match against UCCS. The goal was assisted by midfielder Haley Mendel, who also assisted the second goal of the season and is tied for second in assists in the LSC. Tiffany Dang and Shay Williams also have an assist each.
Also attacking for the Belles has been Morgan Sibson with nine shots including two on goal and Elizabeth Rodriguez with seven total shots including two on goal.
The other time the Belles found the net this season was courtesy of a free kick from junior midfielder Loni Byers in the first minute of the match, which was her first goal on the season. Byers also had the assist on the Tsambasis goal, and the junior out of California attempted five shots against the Cowgirls with four coming on goal.
Both goals came within the first ten minutes of the match, and all seven of the Belles' goals this season have come within in the first 30 minutes of matches.
"It's good to put doubt into the mind of the opposing teams early on," McCorkle said. "The more times we can do that, the more teams are going to be worried about the beginning. If that's something that we can continue to impose on other teams, hopefully other teams will spend so much more energy early on that we can start taking advantage more at the ends of games."
Colorado Mesa comes into the matchup 1-2-1 on the season after finishing 4-10-4 in 2015. Western State brings in a record of 2-1-1 after finishing 7-7-4 last year.
"I think the key for us right now is still looking at what we're doing internally and not so much how the other team performs and what they're doing," McCorkle said. "It's really about us trying to get better for Lone Star Conference play so that prepares us for postseason play."
