Soccer puts up ninth shutout of season

The No. 5-ranked Rambelles soccer traveled to Portales, New Mexico on Oct. 16 to take on Eastern New Mexico University and proceeded to continue their shutdown streak.

The sole goal of the game came from midfielder Haley Mendel in the 38th minute. She shot by two ENMU defenders for an unassisted goal, making this her seventh score of the season.

ENMU fell victim to the Belles’ fierce gameplay. They only shot seven times, as compared to the Belles’ 14 shot attempts. This game was the Belles’ fifth consecutive shutout and eighth of the season. Their overall season record is currently 11-1-1, and they are 5-1 for the Lone Star Conference.

Defense has been the team’s strongest aspect this season. Game after game, the defense has kept opponents off the net and goalkeeper Shantel Wittke has excelled at using her swift reflexes to catch the few goals that got past defenders.

Rambelles vs. West Texas A&M
In the first rematch of Rambelle soccer, the Belles took on West Texas A&M on Oct. 18 in Canyon aiming to repeat their earlier win.

WTAMU lost to the Belles on Oct. 2 with a score of 2-0, and the Belles managed to make history repeat itself. Both teams seemed evenly matched until the final minute of the first half when forward Tiffany Dang sent a shot to the WTAMU goalkeeper, but it bounced off to forward Payton Shlemon, who scored her second goal of the season. This became Dang’s fourth assist of the season, and also got the ball rolling for the Belles to take over the game in the second half.

The Belles came back from half time and carried on the momentum. Midfielder Kathleen Keoughan sent the ball from a corner kick which went off to fellow midfielder Loni Byers. This was Keoughan’s first assist of the season, and Byers’s second when midfielder Haley Mendel sent the ball sailing into the net in the 76th minute of the game. This, along with the Belles’ defense, sealed the sixth consecutive shutout and a win for the team.

WTAMU was their ninth shutout of the season, and puts the Belles’ win/tie/loss record at 12-1-1 for the season and 6-1 in the LSC.

This win put the Belles at fourth place in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, and is the only team from the southern states to make it into the top five. The Rambelles are tenth in shutout percentage, seventh in goals against average and seventh in save percentage in the NSCAA. As of Oct. 21, the National Coaches Association of America poll placed the Belles as first in the South Central region.

The Belles will take on their second season rematch against Midwestern State at home on Oct. 23 at 7 p.m.