SAN ANGELO -Â The Angelo State soccer team will look to bounce back from its first home loss of the year this weekend, taking on West Texas A&M at 7 p.m. Friday in Canyon before facing Eastern New Mexico at 2 p.m. in Portales on Sunday.
The Belles (5-2-1) went 1-1 in their opening weekend of conference play, beating UTPB and falling to Midwestern State. The defense remained strong in the two matches, allowing just the one goal from the Mustangs, and neither opponent was able to get off more than ten shots in a match.
Against UTPB, the Falcons were held to only six shots overall with only one coming on goal. On Friday, the Belles kept it close again by allowing only five shots on goal and seven overall. The goal the ASU defense gave up to the Mustangs Friday broke a shutout streak of 373 minutes at home this season.
Leading the Belles defense has been senior Ashley Exford, who is No. 1 on the team in minutes played, along with Shay Williams, Lauren Perry, Molly Warren, Callie Smith, and Kylie Deel.
The goal allowed was only the fourth for the Belles this season and was credited to freshman goalkeeper Sammy Cude, bringing her season record to 4-2-1. Despite taking the loss, Cude's goals against average for the season is still a paltry .391, which is 15th in the nation and first in the conference.
On the offensive side of the ball, another Belle is near the top in the nation in goals per game. Senior Demi Tsambasis has scored seven goals so far this season, already breaking her season total from last year and giving her a goals-per-game average of .88 which is good for 20th in the nation and first in the LSC.
The California native's seven-goal total also ranks 17th in the nation and puts her at first in the conference. Tsambasis got off five total shots against the Falcons, including three on goal which led the team. She also led the team in shots in Friday's matchup with Midwestern State, creating seven scoring chances in the game. The senior leads the team in both shots (38) and shots on goal (21) this season.
Second on the team in both shots and goal is freshman Trenadey Scott, who has scored two goals on 16 shots so far this season. Elizabeth Rodriguez, Tiffany Dang and Morgan Sibson all have double-digit shots on the season as well and Dang has had one end with a goal.
Other goal-scorers for the Belles have been Loni Byers with one and Cynthia Andrews who also has one goal on the season. Byers' goal came on a free kick and the junior also has an assist from a free kick. Overall, Angelo State has scored more than a third (5) of its 12 goals this season from set pieces.
The Belles have scored early and often so far this year, outscoring opponents 12-4 on the season. Ten of the 12 goals have come in the first half alone, and ASU is 4-0 when scoring first, compared to a 1-2-1 record when the opponent gets the first goal.
"We've been good at getting chances so far this season, but we haven't done as much with those opportunities as I would've liked," ASU head soccer coach Travis McCorkle said. "We really need some of these younger players who have shown promise to step up and performing at a high level. The number of chances is not the key. It's what you do with them."
The Lady Buffs come into Friday's matchup with an overall record of 3-3 including a 1-1 showing in conference play. Eastern New Mexico has gone 2-4-1 so far this season with a 1-1 record in conference play as well. Both WT and ENMU are coming off of wins against Texas Woman's and losses to Texas A&M – Commerce last weekend.
