Box Score
LOS ANGELES – Senior
Ashley Holton's 97th minute strike vs. Dallas Baptist elevated Abilene Christian to elite status as the Wildcats are now just one of eight teams remaining in the NCAA DII Championship following their 2-1 victory Friday night at Jesse Owens Stadium on the campus of Cal State Los Angeles.
The goal was Holton's sixth of the season, and was scored off an assist from
Lexi Stirling – her second of the night.
“I think we wanted to win this game more,” Holton said, “and as soon as Lexi connected with me on the diagonal, I knew it was going to be a goal.”
The game-winning strike originated with a key defensive stop inside the Patriots' 18-yard box, where
Katherine Garner stonewalled a DBU attacker to turn the ball over to ACU. The ball eventually found its way to Stirling, who raced forward several paces before finding Holton in motion along the outside plank. Holton collected the ball just inside the 18, took one touch, and then fired a missile past goalkeeper Kerry Edwards and into the back corner.
“I'm so happy to come out on top of this game, and couldn't be prouder of this team,” sophomore
Andrea Carpenter said. “This game meant so much to all of us equally … we wanted it so bad, and it was great to see us fight back from a 1-0 deficit to win.”
“Any time you can get a stop like Katherine's; it opens up a great opportunity for a counter attack,” added head coach
Casey Wilson, “and Dallas Baptist was frozen on that play, allowing Lexi to feed Ashley from the back…there were lots of counter attacks tonight and it was great to be on the winning end of one.”
The win lifted ACU's season record to 20-1-1 and into an Elite Eight match Sunday at 2 p.m. PT/4 p.m. CT vs. Cal State Chico (12-6-5), which surprised host Cal State L.A. with a scoreless tie followed by a 4-3 shootout triumph.
Dallas Baptist, meanwhile, which entered the championship as the South Central Region's sixth seed, saw its Cinderella season end at 16-6-1.
The Patriots played nothing like the underdog in the first half as they controlled the possession and pace of play as evidenced by their 9-6 advantage in shots and 5-0 lead in corner kicks. In fact, it was on their fifth corner kick where they broke a 0-0 tie in the 43rd minute as Kourtney Edwards headed in Brittany Layne's delivery from inside the six-yard box.
Prior to Edwards' goal – her fourth of the season – both sides had plenty of excellent looks in combining for 15 shots. The Patriots nearly hit paydirt in the fourth minute, but
Brie Buschman made a sliding stop along the 18-yard stripe to nix one opportunity, and then the Wildcats were extremely fortunate when Danielle Presley scorched the ball over frame from about four yards back. Garner also had a team save while standing near the back post following DBU's fourth corner kick.
ACU was presented with consecutive chances to take the first lead, but
Whitley Lindholm's breakaway was stopped short by Edwards, and Carpenter had a shot that was partially deflected and saved. Then In the 21st minute, a cross from
Julie Coppedge into
Stephanie Heron arrived a split second too late and Edwards jumped on it before the Upland, Calif., native had a chance to strike.
Carpenter also delivered a cross into the six intended for
Krysta Grimm in the 32nd minute, but the timing again was disrupted by the Patriot defense, and Grimm's shot sailed high.
Despite being down a goal, ACU emerged from halftime a team possessed and received its equalizer 10 minutes into the second half when Carpenter capitalized on a defensive gaffe following
Lexi Stirling's free kick.
Stirling set her kick up from about 30 yards away on the near side and looped the ball into the midst of a scrum. Edwards, the goalkeeper, leapt in an attempt to catch the ball, but instead it rolled off her fingertips and landed behind her, from where Carpenter took one step before unloading on the open net.
“I was kind of turned sideways when I hit it, but it rolled in,” said Carpenter, who counts four postseason goals among her 16 this season. “There was one other girl in pursuit of me and the ball, but she couldn't get there fast enough.
“For most teams being down 1-0 at halftime is a big deal,” she added,” but there were no hung heads in our locker room, and the only words that were said were ones of positive encouragement. We somehow knew that this wasn't going to be our last game.”
The Wildcats continued to pelt Edwards throughout the second half, and finished with an 11-2 advantage in shots. But following Carpenter's game-tying boot, Holton and Lindholm both had shots saved, and Grimm had her blast from 12 yards back tipped over the crossbar on a fantastic stop by Edwards.
ACU went on to outshoot Dallas Baptist 17-12 for the match, including 11-3 over the final 52 minutes.
Wilson said the presence of senior
Lyndsey Womack throughout the second half also had a significant impact. Tonight's match was Womack's first since late October when she was hurt at Texas Woman's.
“Womack is a dynamic player and just gives us a different look on defense,” he said. “Even when she's not at 100 percent, she still possesses that speed and ability to chase people down. But I'm pleased with everyone's efforts in the second half, it was a physical game, and we played our hearts out.”
ACU goalkeeper
Elliott London finished the match with three saves, one in each period. Edwards had 11 for the Patriots, including seven in the second half.
