SAN ANGELO – Two of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division II South Central region will square off for the Lone Star Conference Soccer Championship when No. 20 Angelo State meets Texas A&M-Commerce at 1 p.m. on Sunday at the Lions Soccer Field in Commerce for the tournament title and an automatic bid to the NCAA postseason.

The Rambelles (15-3-1) earned the program's first trip to the conference tournament final with a 3-1 win over Eastern New Mexico in the semifinals, while A&M-Commerce advanced with a 2-1 semifinal win over Midwestern State. The Lions (14-5) are ranked No. 3 in the current NCAA DII South Central rankings, while ASU is ranked No. 5 in the region. This will be the first time ASU and A&M-Commerce have met in the conference tournament since the Lions handed the Rambelles a 4-3 penalty-kick loss in the 2011 tournament which was played in Abilene.

The season series between the two teams is knotted at 1-1 after the Rambelles earned a 1-0 double-overtime win on Oct. 3 at the ASU Soccer Field and the Lions took a 1-0 win on Oct. 19 in Commerce. ASU enters the game on a five-game winning streak, while the Lions have won their last six games. A&M-Commerce is 6-3 on its home field in 2014, while the Rambelles are 6-3 away from San Angelo this season.

ASU enters the conference final on a five-game winning streak coming with victories over West Texas A&M, Midwestern State, Southwestern Oklahoma and two wins over ENMU. The Rambelles have outscored their opponents 46-11 this season and own a 150-84 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.

The Rambelles roster includes 10 players with LSC tournament playing experience and 13 players who are making their first postseason experience. ASU has played with a deep and productive team all season, with 15 players scoring goals, 12 players with assists and two goalkeeper with multiple shutouts.

A&M-Commerce, which has won the LSC tournament twice in its program history (1999, 2004), has a 32-13 goal-scoring advantage over its opponents this season and a 143-114 shots on goal advantage. Savannah Henderson, who was named the LSC Co-Offensive Player of the Year along with Anderson, comes into the final with a team-high 13 goals and has added seven assists. Jade Bell has added nine goals and eight assists, while Julia Hernandez and Anitra Wright have two goals each this season. Henderson and Bell account for 22 of Commerce's 32 goals this season and for 15 of their 28 assists. In goal, Courtnie Northern has made 94 saves and has recorded seven shutouts. She has a .887 saves percentage and a 0.69 goals against average.

POSTSEAON HONORS
The championship final will cast a big portion of the all-conference players with the Lions fielding first-team selections in defender Vicky Black and forward Savannah Henderson and second-team members Callie Annett (D), Jade Bell (F), Ashley Phillips (M), Julie Hernandez (M), Madison Cordts (M) and goalkeeper Courtnie Northern. The Rambelles were represented on the LSC first-team by defender Ashley Exford, forward Sierra Anderson, midfielder Haley Mendel and goalkeeper Shantel Wittke. ASU's second-team selection came with Caitlyn Conaway earning her third straight all-conference honor for her work for the Rambelle defense. Anderson and Henderson were LSC Co-Offensive Players of the Year, while Exford was named the LSC Co-Defensive Player of the Year with Renee Romero (ENMU) and Shantel Wittke was the LSC Co-Goalkeeper of the Year with Courtney Burnette (Midwestern). ASU head coach Travis McCorkle was named the LSC Coach of the Year for the second straight season.   

 
QUOTES – Travis McCorkle, ASU head soccer coach
 
On the challenge of playing against A&M-Commerce in the tournament finals:
"Commerce has been playing good defense all year. It starts with their GK. Their defense has great athletes and we expect them to use a deep sweeper to counter the speed we have up front. In their attack, Jade is a very active forward that we need to be aware of all the time. Their other forward Savannah has scored a lot of goals and so it's obvious we need to limit her chances."
 
On the team's mentality going into the program's first LSC tournament final:
"The girls understand that their performance at this time of the year was developed because they ran countless sprints; lifted; and spent hours developing their techniques in the summer when no one was around. They do it for the program, the team and for themselves. They do it to get to these games."
 
On the ability of the Rambelles to have an offensive attack with multiple players:
"Sierra will surely be Commerce's focus, but I think one of the reasons we've done so well this year is that we multiple players that can score goals.  The other thing is that we have different ways to score goals - like set pieces."
 
On what he liked about the Rambelles' performance on Friday against ENMU:
"We knew that we were capable of putting a lot of pressure on ENMU and setting that tone early gave us a lot of confidence. That first half showed some of the very best qualities we have as a team. As for Sunday, we're playing for a trophy and the mentality of the team is to continue what we've been doing. We lost here last time, but played better than the two games before that. It was a turning point for us to get back on track playing the way we know we're capable of."
 
RAMBELLE ROSTER REPORT
Sierra Anderson was selected as the LSC Co-Offensive Player of the Year on Thursday and followed receiving the honor by recording her first hat trick of her collegiate career on Friday against ENMU. Anderson scored two first-half goals against the Zias and then iced the game with an 85th minute goal off an assist from Haley Mendel. Anderson, who had a game-high nine shots against the Zias, leads the Rambelles this season with 14 goals and enters Sunday's championship final with 23 goals in her three-year career at ASU. A junior from Wichita Falls, Anderson has scored seven goals in the past six games. Anderson leads ASU with 40 shots on goals this season and has scored two goals in three games coming against St. Mary's and twice against West Texas A&M and finished the regular season with seven goals in the 10 conference contests. Anderson scored the game-winning goal against A&M-Commerce in the 1-0 win at the ASU Soccer Complex. She finished the regular season with 34 shots on goal and with a .576 percentage on those chances.

The Rambelles have limited their opponents to only 11 goals in 19 games this season in large measure to the strong defensive play throughout the season by defenders Ashley Exford, Caitlyn Conaway, Lauren Perry, Brittany Martinez and Dakota Briseno. The defenders limited the opposition to only 4.1 shots on goal per game and helped the team establish a new program record with 12 shutouts.

Selected as the LSC Co-Goalkeeper of the Year, Shantel Wittke earned nine shutouts and combined with Natalie Nielsen for another last Sunday at SWOSU. She recorded a career-high eight saves against ENMU on Friday in the semifinals to help the Rambelle advance. Wittke finished the regular season with 58 saves, a 0.62 goals against average and a .853 saves percentage. She led the conference in shutouts and has a 13-3-1 individual goalkeeper record. Wittke enters the LSC final with 66 saves this season, including eight saves in the two games against Commerce. She recorded a shutout against the Lions at home with five saves.

Mendel now leads the Rambelles with six assists this season after providing the cross in the 85th minute of the semifinal game and Tiffany Dang has five assists this season. Mendel, a sophomore from Bastrop, also added seven goals for a total of 19 points in her second season at ASU. She had recorded the lone hat trick of the ASU season when she scored three goals against Colorado Mesa and also had a two-goal game against Adams State in the season opener. She assisted on two goals by Anderson and Cynthia Andrews and one by Elizabeth Rodriguez and is second on the team with 18 shots on goal this season. Dang, a freshman from North Richland Hills, assisted on four of Anderson's goals and one by Dakota Briseno. She also had one goal this season with a goal against Colorado Mesa. The Rambelles own a 17-9 shots on goal advantage over the Lions in the previous two meetings this season.

Loni Byers has provided four goals and four assists in her freshman season, including assisting on Anderson's goal two weeks ago against ENMU. Byers scored her first goal of the season against New Mexico Highlands and then added a two-goal game against Oklahoma Christian and then her fourth goal against Texas-Permian Basin. She has assisted on goals by Jenny Kotowych, Brianne Brown and two of Anderson's goals this season. Rodriguez and Kotowych each had three goals this season with Kotowych finishing with three assists and Rodriguez having one assist. Rodriguez scored on a penalty-kick goal two weeks ago to cap a 3-0 win over WT and also had goals against Fort Lewis College and Oklahoma Christian this season.

Selena Alvarez and Kathleen Keoughan each scored their second goals of the season in Sunday's win over Southwestern Oklahoma. Keoughan opened scoring with a free-kick goal and now has eight career goals, while Alvarez found the back of the net after a corner kick. Alvarez has eight career goals after scoring five last season as a sophomore and having one during her freshman season. Brown, Ashley Exford and Andrews each have two goals this season, while Callie Smith, Caitlyn Conaway, Brittany Martinez and Briseno each have one goal this season.  
 
PREVIOUS GAME REPORTS
Anderson's golden goal lifts Rambelles over Lions (Oct. 3, 2014)

SAN ANGELO – Loni Byers delivered a perfectly placed left-footed cross to Sierra Anderson who headed the ball into the back of the net to lift the No. 10-ranked Angelo State soccer team to a 1-0 double-overtime win over Texas A&M-Commerce on Friday at the ASU Soccer Complex.

The Rambelles (8-0-1, 1-0-1 LSC) picked up their first Lone Star Conference win of the season with Anderson's golden goal in the fourth minute of the second overtime session and move to 6-0-1 at home this season. ASU's defense has recorded five straight shutouts and has held its opponents scoreless for the last 570 minutes of play. The Rambelles have now outscored their opponents 32-3 this season and are 1-0-1 in overtime games.

"I thought the team did a great job of switching the ball over to Loni and she played a great ball into me and I just put it in," Anderson said. "It's awesome to get the win. We've really been working to make our runs great up top to get it right and put the ball in the back of the net."

"I just tried to get a good service up," said Byers, who had thrown the ball in and got it back from Brianne Brown to make her pass to Anderson. "I didn't see anyone running but I just tried to serve it into the six and Sierra was able to get on the end of it. Getting a well-deserved goal like that is really rewarding."

Anderson has now scored five goals this season after her game-winning goal and Byers has three assists. Shantel Wittke recorded five saves in 104 minutes in goal for her fifth shutout of the year. Wittke recorded one save in the first half, four in the second half and did not face an overtime shot with strong defensive work from Brittany Martinez, Ashley Exford and the rest of ASU's defensive stalwarts.

The Rambelles owned a 21-10 shot advantage in the game and a 10-5 shots-on-goal advantage. Anderson led ASU with four shots in the game, while Byers, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Haley Mendel and Selena Alvarez each had three shots.

Courtnie Northern had a strong game in goal for the Lions who fell for the second straight game after taking a 0-1 loss last Sunday against West Texas A&M. Northern recorded nine saves for A&M-Commerce before Anderson's goal ended the game. Anitra Wright and Jade Bell led the Lions with three shots each with two of Wright's shots being on goal.
 
Lions hand Rambelles a 0-1 loss on the road (Oct. 19, 2014)

COMMERCE – The No. 19-ranked Angelo State soccer team dropped its third consecutive game with a 0-1 Lone Star Conference loss to Texas A&M-Commerce on Sunday at the Lion Soccer Field.

The Rambelles (10-3-1, 3-3-1 LSC) have been shut out in the past three games with losses at Eastern New Mexico last Sunday and also a 0-3 defeat on Friday at Texas Woman's. ASU, which had been averaging 3.18 goals per game through its first 11 contests of the season, now finds itself tied for third place in the conference standings (10 points) with Texas Woman's which earned a 1-0 win on Sunday over Midwestern State. ENMU and the Lions lead the LSC with 12 points.  

Savannah Henderson scored the game-winning goal for A&M-Commerce (9-5-0, 4-3-0 LSC) in the 69th minute which the Rambelles were unable to equalize. ASU led the Lions 7-4 in the shots on goal category with Sierra Anderson leading the Rambelles with two shots on goal. Haley Mendel, Tiffany Dang, Brianne Brown, Shay Williams and Selena Alvarez each had one shot on goal.

ASU goalkeeper Shantel Wittke recorded three saves against the Lions, but was unable to stop the Henderson goal which came unassisted as Henderson went low to get the ball in the back of the net. Henderson put pressure on the Rambelles throughout the game with seven shots (two on goal) and Cadie Annett had two shots on goal for the Lions who bounced back from a 1-2 loss to Midwestern State on Friday with the 1-0 win over ASU.  

The Rambelles and Lions were scoreless at halftime with ASU being outshot 8-3 and both teams having two shots on goal. Mendel and Dang had one shot on goal each for the Rambelles in the first 45 minutes of play and Wittke had two saves in goal.