Belles fall to Midwestern State

Photo by Kaitlin Trujillo 
Shay Williams hits a header

The Rambelles were defeated by the Midwestern State University Mustangs 1-0 Sept. 23. 

It was the first loss of the soccer season for the Belles at home, who are now 5-2-1. 

Belles started off at a medium pace as they moved across the field trying to set up a rhythm to the game. Belles and Mustangs were evenly matched at first, but the tone of the game changed when the Mustangs became aggressive after the Belles made a few shots.

“Midwestern was very aggressive. I have never seen them play like that before,”  Travis McCorkle, head coach, said. “The pace of the game was good, especially in the second half. I thought we made some good adjustments with the 17-4 shots.”

Belles had many opportunities to score a goal, but many of their shots went right into the hands of the Mustangs’ goalkeeper. Freshman Sammy Cude, goalkeeper for the Belles, played hard at keeping the Mustangs out of the net. She has only gained two losses this season.

“We need to finish our shots up,” Cude said. “The team came out a little flat-footed in the first half, but we turned it around and came out much quicker in the second half. They got the one shot and it went in. I saw the forwards working hard and the defense worked hard.”

Both teams seemed to struggle with their performance, but the Belles gave as good as they got. They were clever at not letting the Mustangs get off shots.

“This was disappointing,” McCorkle said. “We did everything we needed to do but score. I thought there was a penalty kick that was not called, but what can you do?”

Demi Tsambasis, senior midfielder and forward, led the team with seven shots.  

“I thought it was a good game, but we could not execute the finish,” Hayley Mendel, senior midfielder, said. “It was a hard fought game. We will definitely learn from this experience.”

There were a few runs and great turns, but not enough to affect the game for the Belles. The ASU fans were into every facet of the game. Many of the fans were jumping up and down in the seats trying to help the Belles win.

The Belles’ next game will be at West Texas A&M University Sept. 30.