Match 14 – Midwestern State (7-3-3, 3-2-2 LSC) at No. 4 Angelo State (12-1-1, 6-1-0 LSC)
Friday, Oct. 23, 2015 | 6:30 p.m.
ASU Soccer Field | San Angelo, Texas
Live Stats: AngeloSports.com
 
Match 15 – Midwestern State (7-3-3) at St. Mary's (9-3-0)
Sunday, Oct. 25, 2015 | 11 a.m.
Sigma Beta Chi Field | San Antonio, Texas
Live Stats: RattlerAthletics.com
Live Video: RattlerAthletics.com
 

FOR STARTERS
Midwestern State takes on its final road trip of the regular season this weekend when the Mustangs travel to Lone Star Conference leader Angelo State before a non-conference battle against St. Mary's (Texas).
 
The Mustangs open up against the fourth-ranked Rambelles with a 7 p.m. Friday kickoff at ASU Soccer Field in San Angelo. Midwestern then heads farther south to take on the Rattlers at Sigma Beta Chi Field in San Antonio Sunday at 11 a.m.
 
Midwestern State climbed into a tie for second place (11 pts) with Texas A&M-Commerce in the LSC following a 1-0-1 record on the road last weekend to improve to 7-3-3 overall and 3-2-2 in conference. The Mustangs played West Texas A&M to a 1-1 draw as sophomore forward Destinee Williamson delivered the equalizer in the 82nd minute to help MSU come away with a point on the road. The Mustangs concluded the weekend with a 1-0 victory over Eastern New Mexico with Williamson recording the game winner to earn a season sweep over the Greyhounds.
 
MUSTANGS FIFTH IN SOUTH CENTRAL REGION RANKINGS
– In the first NCAA regional rankings released Wednesday, Midwestern State came in at No. 5 in the South Central Region
– Angelo State topped the region poll and was followed by Fort Lewis (Colo.), St. Edward's (Texas), Dallas Baptist (Texas), Midwestern State, Colorado-Colorado Springs, Texas A&M-Commerce, Colorado Mines, Texas Woman's and Colorado State-Pueblo
– The top six teams from the South Central Region will qualify for the NCAA Tournament, which is set to begin Friday, Nov. 13 at select campus sites

SCOUTING THE RAMBELLES
– Angelo State is off to a program-best 12-1-1 start with a 6-1 mark in the LSC
– The Rambelles currently lead the LSC with 18 points
– ASU sports a .419 goals against average for seventh in the country, holding opponents to just six goals with nine shutouts this season
– The Rambelles are also seventh nationally in save percentage with a .902 mark
– Senior goalkeeper Shantel Wittke ranks second in the nation with a .926 save percentage and fifth with a .333 goals against average
– The Rambelles are led by Sierra Anderson and Haley Mendel on the offensive end
– Mendel has a team-high eight goals while Anderson leads ASU with five assists and 19 points
– Head coach Travis McCorkle is now in his eighth season at the helm of the women's soccer program, leading the Rambelles to a 129-97-18 record
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
– Midwestern State is 14-9-7 against Angelo State in the all-time series with a 4-4-5 record in San Angelo
– ASU earned a 2-0 victory over the Mustangs two weeks ago in Wichita Falls with scores coming from junior midfielder Demi Tsambasis in the fifth and 90th minute
– The Mustangs went 0-1-1 against the Rambelles last season, earning a 0-0 draw against the 11th-ranked squad in San Angelo before falling 1-0 in Wichita Falls
– Midwestern State last earned a win over ASU in San Angelo on Nov. 1, 2013 with a 3-2 victory

SCOUTING THE RATTLERS
– St. Mary's is 9-3-0 on the season with a 4-1-0 mark in the Heartland Conference, sitting in second place in the league standings
– The Rattlers average 2.25 goals per game for 41st nationally while ranking 37th with a .500 shutout percentage
– St. Mary's has won four straight and seven of its last eight matches, outscoring opponents 18-5
– Sophomore forward Rachel Gurinsky leads the Rattlers with seven goals and 14 points while junior forward Kristal Williams has totaled six goals and 13 points this season
– Sophomore midfielder Kaitlyn Judge is the assists leader for the Rattlers, ranking 30th nationally with six assists and 20th with 0.5 per game
– Head coach Corwyn Ritch is in his 15th season at St. Mary's with a 133-124-20 career record
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
– Midwestern State carries a 5-4-2 record against St. Mary's in a series that began in 1995
– Sunday's meeting will be the first between the two schools since 2009 when the Mustangs opened the season with a 1-0 win over the Rattlers in Wichita Falls
– Midwestern State has won four of the last six matchups
– The Mustangs are 2-2-0 against the Rattlers away from home, last earning a win in San Antonio back on Sept. 24, 2000 with a 1-0 victory
 
MUSTANGS IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
– After ranking 59th with a .842 goals against average in 2014, the Mustangs defense has picked up right where they left off last season
– The Mustangs are 31st nationally with a .538 shutout percentage and 32nd with a .654 goals against average after allowing just nine goals through 13 matches
– The goalkeeping duo of sophomore Courtney Burnette and redshirt freshman Brooke Bottensek have combined for a .857 save percentage for 28th in the country
 
MUSTANGS RACK UP SEVENTH SHUTOUT 
– It's no secret the Mustangs defense has been one of the strongest in the LSC and in the nation the past couple of seasons
– Following a 1-0 win over Eastern New Mexico, Midwestern State recorded its seventh shutout of the season
– The Mustangs have already surpassed their shutout total from the 2014 season when they posted six clean sheets
– In 2009, the Mustangs broke a 13-year school record with 11 shutouts on the season
– The Mustangs' .650 goals against average this season currently ranks second in the program record books while their save percentage of .857 comes in eighth
 
BURNETTE COLLECTING HONORS
– After being named the Lone Star Conference Goalkeeper of the Year a season ago, Burnette continues to rack up the awards in her sophomore campaign
– The Irving native was selected as the LSC Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year and was tabbed the LSC Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 16 after helping the Mountaineers to a 1-0-1 week that included a 1-0 shutout of No. 13 UC-Colorado Springs
– Burnette currently ranks 35th in the nation with a .664 goals against average and .852 save percentage
 
MSU USING BALANCED OFFENSIVE ATTACK
– Sophomore forward Destinee Williamson has a team-best six goals and 12 points this season to lead the Mustangs offense
– However, Midwestern State has received contributions from several players on the offensive side of the ball with seven different goal scorers and 15 that have tallied points this season
– Senior midfielder Morgan Hannon and junior forward Aly Wade have joined Williamson in leading the Mustangs, each recording three goals on the season

MIDWESTERN KNOCKS OFF NO. 13 MOUNTAIN LIONS
– In their first road match of the 2015 season, the Mustangs shutout No. 13 UC-Colorado Springs, 1-0
– Senior midfielder Morgan Hannon delivered the game winner for Midwestern, converting a penalty kick in the 63rd minute
– The win over UCCS was the first victory over a nationally-ranked opponent since the 2013 season when the Mustangs took down No. 24 Texas A&M-Commerce on the road
 
CLARKE BEGINS YEAR NO. 2
– In his first season at Midwestern, head coach Damian Clarke led the Mustangs to an 8-6-5 overall record and a fourth-place finish in the Lone Star Conference with a 3-5-2 mark
– In seven seasons at Fort Lewis (Colo.), Clarke compiled a 106-31-17 record with five NCAA Tournament appearances
– Now in his ninth season as a head coach, Clarke holds a career mark of 121-40-25 with a winning percentage of .718 that ranks 12th in NCAA Division II
 
MUSTANGS PICKED THIRD IN LSC
– Midwestern totaled 48 points for third in the Lone Star Conference Preseason Poll behind preseason favorite Angelo State (82) and Texas A&M-Commerce (80)
– The Mustangs return eight starters off last year's squad including 2014 All-LSC selections Morgan Hannon, Alex Edwards, Liz Navarette, Courtney Burnette and Destinee Williamson
 
LOOKING AHEAD
– Midwestern State closes out the regular season next weekend at home against Texas A&M-Commerce in an 8 p.m. Friday contest before the regular season finale against Texas Woman's on Sunday at 1 p.m.