COMMERCE, TEXAS – Following Friday's disappointing 2-1 loss to Midwestern State, the Lions (8-5-0 overall, 3-3 in conference) hope to bounce back and take revenge on the team that beat them just over two weeks ago, the No. 19 Angelo State University Rambelles (10-2-1 overall, 3-2-1 in conference).
Just a week ago, Angelo State seemed virtually unstoppable. Having opened the season 7-0 in conference-play and opening Lone Star Conference play 3-0-1, ASU managed to climb as high as No. 8 in the nation. Yet a 2-0 road-loss to conference-leading Eastern New Mexico, followed by a 3-0 defeat in Denton to Texas Woman's last Friday, the Rambelles suddenly appear mortal as they enter Commerce on a two-game losing-skid.
Not only that, while the Rambelles were indeed dominant in their out-of-conference action, the opponents they played during that span were hardly world-beaters. As of this writing, those opponents sport a combined record of 16-42-13 for a combined winning percentage of 31.7%. Furthermore, not a single one of those contests took place on the road. Five were at home, while two others were in neutral site locations, when ASU played four hours away in Dallas against two teams from Colorado. In fact, according to the NCAA rankings of most difficult schedules in Division II, the Rambelles rank in the bottom 20% at 205 out of 254 schools. That's a stark contrast to the Lions' schedule, which is ranked the third most difficult in the nation.
In their previous meeting in San Angelo, the Rambelles and Lions played over 100 scoreless minutes in a fierce back-and-forth game before ASU junior forward Sierra Anderson netted the overtime goal for the 1-0 win, a feat which earned her LSC Offensive Player of the Week honors. While Angelo State has been unbeatable at home (7-0-1, .938 winning percentage), their success on the road has been harder to come by (1-2, .333 winning percentage).
While Anderson has been a key piece of the Rambelle offense with seven goals on the season, she's just one of three ASU players with double-digit points on the season. Sophomore midfielder Haley Mendel has been the centerpiece of the Angelo State offense, and shares the team-lead in both goals and assists (7G, 4A). Freshman midfielder Loni Byers as well has contributed to the Rambelles in both the goals and assists department (4G, 3A). These three are certainly not the only offensive options for head coach Travis McCorkie, as Angelo State has 11 other players who've scored goals on the season.
Working to counteract the ASU offense will be A&M-Commerce's pair of accomplished forwards, sophomore Savannah Henderson and junior Jade Bell. Henderson currently leads the LSC in shots (63), is tied for the conference-lead in goals (10), and is second in the conference in points (24). Bell meanwhile has achieved respectable numbers in her own right (5G, 5A), and is tied for second in the conference in the assists category. Outside of them, the Lions have had difficulty finding scoring alternatives, as the Henderson/Bell duo represent 64% of the total points scored for the entire Lions team. In their last game, Angelo State keyed in on this point disparity and managed to hold the two to a combined four shots. If the Lions can't find a way to mitigate that this second time around, things could become difficult.
Between the pipes, the Rambelles have primarily relied upon junior keeper Shantel Wittke, who's started 11 games. With an 8-2-1 record and a conference-leading seven shutouts on the season, Wittke has made 46 saves and racked up a save percentage of .852. However, she's allowed five goals across her last two games. Opposite the field will be junior keeper Courtnie Northern, the reigning LSC Defensive Player of the Week. In 2014, Northern has nearly doubled the number of saves as her ASU counterpart, pawing away 80 saves while only allowing 11 goals for a .879 save percentage. She's made four shutouts on the year, and leads the conference in saves per game, averaging 6.15.
While the Lions may have historically fared well against ASU, with a 13-9-2 record against the Rambelles dating back to 1996, Angelo State has firmly controlled the series in recent years, with the last five games in a row going to ASU. The last time the Lions managed to prevail against Angelo State was back in October of 2011, when A&M-Commerce won 5-1, the most dominant victory either team has experienced during the rivalry.
The game on the field won't be the only focal point of the day's activities. Sunday will mark Senior Day, an occasion when the Lions will take a moment to recognize the careers of players in their final seasons who will be graduating soon. This year, the team will acknowledge four players who will be moving on to the next chapters of their lives: defenders Allie Burks and Sydney Lawthers, as well as twin midfielders Callie Annett and Cadie Annett.
The game, which marks the final home contest of the Lions' season, is scheduled to begin on Sunday, October 19 at 1:00 p.m. Tickets will be available at the gate for $5 to any attendees 13 and over. For children 12 and under, as well as for students with a current ID, admission is free of charge.
