ABILENE – The Abilene Christian soccer team, which is off to an uncharacteristic 2-4 (0-2 LSC) start, will try and get things corrected this weekend when it plays host to Lone Star Conference rivals Eastern New Mexico and West Texas A&M at the Wildcat Soccer Pitch.
ACU's match vs. the Zias kicks off Friday at 5 p.m., while its battle with the Lady Buffs will begin Sunday at 1 p.m. and be accompanied by a live video stream on SkyboxLive.com. Live stats and game updates also will be provided for both contests.
The Wildcats were left frustrated following last weekend's results, which included a 3-1 loss at Incarnate Word followed by a 1-0 defeat at Angelo State. The Rambelles' victory snapped their six-match losing streak in the series and was their first against ACU since September of 2008, while the Cardinals hadn't beat ACU since 2009.
ACU and Incarnate Word played a scoreless first half and it remained 0-0 until the 52nd minute when
Lexi Stirling was red carded for a handball while trying to make a stop. UIW's Samantha Johnson connected on the ensuing penalty kick, and the proverbial floodgates opened from there as UIW scored twice more against the short-handed Wildcats in the 65th and 80th minutes.
“The red card was unfortunate,” said ACU head coach
Casey Wilson, “because it was a close match up until that point and could have gone either way. I feel some of the losses we've suffered this year have been a result of us beating ourselves. We're giving away scoring opportunities because of too many unforced errors.
“If we clean up the way we play, then we can compete with anyone on our schedule,” he added. “But right now we're not taking our game from practice into the matches, and I really felt we had a good week of practice and went onto the road prepared.”
The one bright spot for ACU from last weekend was the play of junior
Andrea Carpenter, who returned from injury and got the Wildcats on the board at UIW with a 15-yard strike at the start of the 83rd minute. The goal was the 39th (85 points) of her illustrious career.
Carpenter totaled 113 minutes last weekend after missing the previous three matches. Veteran defender
Katherine Garner also played for this first time this season and provided 138 minutes. Wilson said both players are doing fine and will continue to ease them into action.
Eastern New Mexico comes to Abilene with an overall record of 2-5 and 1-2 mark against the Lone Star Conference. The Zias stared the season with losses in five of its first six contests but came away with a 1-0 win over Texas A&M-Commerce Sunday in Portales, N.M., with Victoria Perez heading in the game-winner. Goalkeeper Xan Ortiz pitched her second shutout of the year behind six saves.
West Texas A&M is 3-3-1 overall and 2-1 vs. the league and has been carried on offense by Leslie Briggs, who already has scored 21 points on the strength of nine goals and three assists.
