MOBILE, Ala. (10/31/12) - The Arkansas State women's soccer team concluded its 2012 season with a 1-0 loss to No. 4-seeded Western Kentucky in the opening of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament on Wednesday afternoon.
ASU finished with an 11-8-1 overall record and the most wins in school history for a single-season. The Red Wolves also tied the mark for most conference wins in a season with five and set a school record with seven shutouts.
"It's rather unfortunate that such a fun season came to a sudden end," ASU head coach Tafadzwa Ziyenge said. "These girls fought and hustled to the bitter end. They absolutely have nothing to be ashamed of. History will forever remember them as the first in ASU history to have a winning season."
Western Kentucky scored the match's only goal in the 75th minute on a header from Amanda Buechel. Kelsey Burnette took the initial corner kick and the shot was headed on by Ali Stahlke to Buechel who put the ball in the back of the net.
ASU had opportunities to score at the start of the second half on shots from Loren Mitchell and Jordan Adams, but WKU goalkeeper Nikki Hall made saves on both attempts.
Christina Fink and Mitchell led the team with three shots each, while Mitchell had two of her shots land on goal. Madison Joyce, Ashley McMurtry, Kristina Rivera and Adams each had one shot on goal.
In goal, Aja Aguirre played all 90 minutes for ASU and made nine saves. She finished the year with an 8-6-1 record and had three shutouts.
ASU broke the school record for most goals in a single season with 41 and averaged 2.05 goals per match, the highest mark in team history. The Red Wolves also set the record for most wins in Jonesboro during a single season with seven.
