NCAA DII Women's Soccer Third/Fourth Round Web Page
ABILENE – Abilene Christian's road to a national title rolls through the campus of Cal State Los Angeles Friday when the No. 17 Wildcats face regional rival Dallas Baptist in the third round of the NCAA Championship.
The Wildcats (19-1-1) and Patriots (16-5-1) will play at 2:30 p.m. PT/4:30 p.m. CT with the winner advancing into Sunday's national quarterfinals against either Cal State Chico (12-6-4) or the Golden Eagles (13-4-3).
ACU advanced to the South Central Regional title match after edging Midwestern State, 2-1, in overtime on Sunday, while DBU – the region's sixth-seed – upset Central Missouri, 3-1, and Central Oklahoma, 1-0, on the road in Edmond, Okla.
Despite playing in separate conferences, the Wildcats and Patriots are more than familiar foes, having faced each other at least once over the past five years. ACU won this year's match, 2-1, in overtime on sophomore
Andrea Carpenter's goal in the 94th minute, which gave the Wildcats a 4-1 all-time series lead.
Junior
Julie Coppedge also scored in the 14th minute off a corner kick, and then Dallas Baptist tied it in the 73rd minute when Courtney Baxter blasted a shot from 10 yards back.
From there ACU went on to produce one of the best seasons in the country, which included a 17-0-1 regular season and the honor of being the No. 2 ranked team for several weeks. Dallas Baptist, meanwhile, rebounded from a 5-4-1 start with an eight-match winning streak to end the regular season. Six of those wins were shutouts.
Both the Patriots and Wildcats finished first in their respective conference standings, only to lose in heartbreaking fashion to the runner-up clubs from St. Edwards and Midwestern State in the conference championships.
ACU took a 1-0 lead on MSU in the 50th minute only to see the Mustangs rally with two goals in a three-minute span from the 76th to 79th minutes. And then in the Heartland Conference Championship, Dallas Baptist tied St. Edwards in the 75th minute, but with 39 seconds to go before the end of regulation, Hilltopper Kelly Servage struck the game-winner with a shot that bounced over goalkeeper Kerry Edwards.
Despite the loss, Edwards remains one of the best goalkeepers in all of DII with a 0.77 goals-against average and save percentage of 0.852. She's also played the fourth most minutes this season with 1,992.
Lea Sedwick and Danielle Presley, both of who are among the national leaders in points and goals per game, lead the Dallas Baptist offense.
Abilene Christian counters with Carpenter, junior
Krysta Grimm and 2010 All-American
Ashley Holton. Carpenter, the South Central Region's Player of the Year, leads the nation with eight game-winning goals and her season point total of 33 ranks 26th.
Grimm, a second team all-conference selection, has come on strong as of late by delivering at least one point in each of ACU's three postseason matches, while Holton has contributed 13 points on five goals and three assists.
From the midfield, Coppedge and outside wing
Ashley Craig have combined for 13 assists, and on defense, goalkeeper
Elliott London ranks 10th nationally with a .50 GAA and fourth with a .902 save percentage. London's efforts this season resulted in her being named the LSC's Goalkeeper of the Year, and receiving a spot on the Daktronics All-South Central Region first team.
Live stats and video of all three NCAA matches will be provided through CSULAathletics.com.
Ticket prices start at $5 for students, seniors and children. Adult ticket prices are listed at $10.
