ABILENE – The Lone Star Conference Wednesday announced that Abilene Christian soccer players
Lyndsey Womack and
Elliott London have been selected at its Defensive Player and Goalkeeper of the Week. The Wildcat duo was recognized for its efforts during last weekend's victories at Eastern New Mexico and West Texas A&M.
The seniors combined to anchor a defensive effort that resulted in consecutive shutouts, an average of 5.0 shots allowed per match, and six cleared corner kicks. No. 4 ACU (7-0-1, 3-0-1 LSC) has now blanked its last three conference opponents while extending its current unbeaten streak to 13 matches.
“Last weekend wasn't exactly a smooth one … those are two difficult places to play,” head coach
Casey Wilson said. “Even the 3-0 score at Eastern (New Mexico) didn't reflect how hard we had to play to beat them, but getting the two wins was big for us.”
Womack and London are the third and fourth Wildcats to be awarded this season with a conference citation, joining forward
Andrea Carpenter (Sept. 7) and
Lexi Stirling (Sept. 21).
London's shutouts were her first of 2011 and lifted the team's total to five as she continues to maintain a perfect goals-against average (0.00) and save percentage (1.000) through eight starts. She is only one of three goalkeepers nationwide to own a spotless GAA along with Michelle Dillingham of Rollins and Amy Wheaton of Stonehill.
London, who's faced just 32 shots in 460 minutes, credits the defense for her success at the position.
“They're the main reason why I'm not seeing a lot of shots, for which I'm grateful,” she said. “The midfielders and forwards are also applying more pressure up top and that's where it starts for us.”
Wilson also is impressed with the defense, but directs much of the praise back to London for her communication skills.
“She has the ultimate vantage point and from there can direct our defenders to make sure they're in the right position,” he said. “She also brings a lot of experience and consistency, and that's been important for us this season.”
“I pride myself on my ability to communicate,” added London. “I can see more than the defenders do, and I won't hesitate to yell if I see a girl coming on and we're turned the wrong way. It's all positive energy out there … it helps us feel better as a team, build trust, and get along better.”
Next up for ACU is the start of a season-long five-match homestand as they welcome Texas Woman's and Texas A&M-Commerce to the Wildcat Soccer Pitch this Friday and Sunday. Kick times are 4 and 1 p.m.
Commerce was responsible for the Wildcats most recent defeat, which occurred on the road last October. The Lions escaped with a 1-0 victory with the lone goal being scored on a 40-yard midfield bomb by Megan Monroe. On defense, Lions' goalkeeper Randi Hafele made eight saves in recording her eighth shutout.
This season, Hafele and the Lions are 4-3-1 overall and 2-1-1 in the conference following a 3-0 loss to Incarnate Word.
Texas Woman's occupies last place in the LSC at 0-4 and are 0-6-2 overall, but have consistently proved to be a difficult opponent for the Wildcats. In their most recent meeting, the Pioneers twice rallied to tie the score in the 53rd and 58th minutes before eventually falling 3-2. Carpenter scored all three ACU goals in recording her second career hat trick.
The Wildcats lead their all-time series with the Pioneers 3-0-1 with all three wins decided by one goal.
This weekend's matches will be followed by a second week's worth of home contests as the Wildcats play host to Midwestern State (Oct. 5), Eastern New Mexico (Oct. 7) and West Texas A&M (Oct. 9). ACU then finishes the regular season on a five-game conference road trip.
The time of the Midwestern State match has been switched from 1 to 4 p.m.
