Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Live Stats | Incarnate Word Live Stats
ABILENE – Abilene Christian University and supporters of its women's soccer team will bid a fond farewell to a talented senior class Sunday when the Wildcats play host to their final home match of the 2013 season against Incarnate Word.
Recognized as one of ACU's winningest classes over the past four years (56-18-4, .744) this group of upperclassmen was key in transforming a fourth-year program from good to great and from great to extraordinary. As freshmen they won their first Lone Star Conference Championship, and then as sophomores, they defied all expectations by taking their team to the national quarterfinals in Los Angeles.
And even though last year didn't quite go according to plan, the ACU seniors have all flourished during their first season as NCAA Division I student-athletes competing within the Southland Conference. The team, which began the week at 11-3-1, took off on an 8-0-1 start and remains a threat to win the league's regular-season title at 5-3 with four matches left to play, starting with this weekend's matches vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Friday at 4 p.m.) and Incarnate Word (Sunday at 1 p.m.).
Live stats will be provided for both contests. Free hot dogs and sodas also will be served prior to Friday's match with the Islanders.
Each of ACU's six seniors brought something unique to the pitch and were responsible for creating some of the program's most memorable moments.
Midfielder
Jacey Ferrara cracked the game-winning golden goal in a 2011 NCAA Championship match vs. their conference rivals Midwestern State.
All-Lone Star conference wingers
Whitley Lindholm and
Ashley Craig used a combination of speed and intensity to give the Wildcats' a dangerous outside scoring threat during their sophomore year as they combined for 23 points on seven goals and nine assists. Lindholm has since transitioned into the role of a center/defensive midfielder and has helped this year's squad pitch seven shutouts.
Speaking of defense, there hasn't been a much better player along the back line then
Brie Buschman – an Academic All-America honoree who has yet to miss a single start since 2010. Both Buschman and
Katherine Garner were part of the 2011 defensive line that ranked 22nd nationally in goals-against average (0.64) and 31st with a .478 shutout percentage.
Garner joined the Wildcats a year before the rest of the senior class in 2009, but didn't play until 2010 because of a decision to redshirt. She scored three goals as a redshirt freshman, including a timely insurance goal vs. Midwestern State in the 2010 LSC Championship before switching to defense, where she continues to excel alongside Buschman, Lindholm and newcomers
Kelsie Roberts and
Emily Sumrall.
"I've been so blessed to play with these girls," said senior
Andrea Carpenter, whose career offensive numbers and impressive list of national accolades have propelled her to all-star status in two conferences. "Every one of them is so different – Jacey being the team mom; Whitley with her passion and intensity; Brie so powerful and influential; Kat is fun and silly, while Ashley is sweet but always focused – that you could make one person from all their personalities.
"This year has been a lot of fun," continued the three-time all-America. "I've had a great time getting to know all the new girls, and I feel that the atmosphere and team chemistry on and off the field has been awesome. There is just so much more joy in me for the game I love."
Carpenter was a star right from the start at ACU as she scored at least one goal in her first eight matches as a true freshman, including two in a 5-0 win at St. Mary's. She then recorded two hat tricks in matches vs. LSC rivals Eastern New Mexico and Texas Woman's before tallying nine points through four postseason contests.
Carpenter's first-year totals represented an entire career for many other players at her position. Her 22 goals and 48 points were not only season records for the Wildcats, but also career records as she went on to receive Freshman and Offensive Player of the Year honors from the LSC. Carpenter also was named third team all-America by Daktronics and won ACU's Paul Goad Award, which is presented annually to the school's top male and female student-athlete.
The following year was just as good as Carpenter's Wildcats went undefeated through the regular season en route to a 20-2-1 season. She finished that magical year with 16 goals and 35 points, repeating as the league's Offensive Player of the Year before earning the school's first and only first team all-America citation from the NSCAA.
"When we're recruiting kids out of high school, you never know how their individual successes are going to translate to the college game," said ACU head coach
Casey Wilson, "but it certainly did in her case – and that's something rare.
"What I most admire about Andrea is her consistency. For four years, she's brought a great amount of success to this program while always maintaining a good work ethic without feeling like she had to conquer the accomplishments of previous years. She is a very nice and respectful young lady on and off the field, and never once put herself above the team even though she has achieved so much – and that's helped her earned the respect and appreciation of her teammates."
In between her sophomore and junior seasons, Carpenter was invited to join a select team that competed throughout Italy and was named the LSC's Preseason Offensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive summer. The team's confidence was riding high going into the fall of 2012, and it was hard to fault the Wildcats for feeling that way as they only had to replace three letterwinners from their 20-win club.
But Carpenter and a few others were hurting a bit at season's start and the Wildcats stumbled out to an uncharacteristic 3-8-1 start. Carpenter, herself, missed three matches in early September and only scored five times on 37 shots. It was a difficult experience for all involved even though ACU won five of its last six to reach the postseason for the fifth-straight year.
Carpenter said it was a hard year all around, with the source of her frustrations going all the way back to ACU's NCAA quarterfinal loss to Chico State. The Wildcats began that trip to Southern California with an exciting overtime win over Dallas Baptist in the South Central Regional final, but then the area was soaked in several feet of rain that completely saturated the field at Cal State Los Angeles.
The Wildcats had never before been forced to play in such squalid and dangerous conditions, but they were required to do so even though the contest took on the appearance of a water polo match. Chico State won the match 1-0 in the 14th minute after Alyx Williams flicked in a deep throw-in past goalkeeper Elliott London.
"I was mad since the last game of my sophomore year," Carpenter said. "I had never won a team championship in my career - my high school team had only gone as far as the semifinals - and after we had made it so far, I just felt like we all got cheated. I felt like a child who had something taken away from them.
"Then came our junior year and with nothing going our way it became hard to function because I was so confused about my soccer life. It was a real turning point for me because I had to learn to separate it from my personal life."
But if last season taught Carpenter anything, it was how to be a leader. She was angry at soccer for a good while, but she prayed about it and realized that since God blessed her with success and a stellar senior class to learn from as a freshman, then she was going to do the same heading into 2013.
Carpenter again is leading her squad in goals (9) and points (23) this fall, but she's also No. 1 for the first time with five assists. Her previous season high of four assists was attained as a freshman. Two of those assists were provided to Ferrara, while the others have gone to junior
Madison Brown, and newcomers Sumrall and
Natalie Throneberry.
Ferrara's nine points are the most she's ever scored in a single season and Throneberry's agility and long-range striking abilities have netted her five goals.
"God blessed me with wisdom, and even though I'm not having the most 'amazing' season, we're now in Division I and making big strides as a program," Carpenter said. "There were a lot of ups and downs the past three years, so I want to leave these girls with a great experience from which to learn from. And I want to see them lead after I'm done playing."
With 1,304 minutes played this season, Carpenter is always in position to lead by example on the field and Wilson says that she is, "all that a coach could ever ask for."
"Her attitude is one of helping the team and taking care of business. "Even if I asked her to play 90 minutes every match, she wouldn't complain at all. She's always been fit and such a great competitor, that even when she was hurt she wanted to be back in form immediately."
Before Senior Day rolls around Sunday, the Wildcats first will have to battle Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, which is in the same position ACU was several years ago. The Islanders are a first-year program looking to make an impact against the conference heavyweights, but unfortunately, things haven't always gone their way in terms of wins and losses as evidence by their overall record of 2-11 and 1-6 mark vs. the league.
Corpus Christi picked up its first win at Texas-San Antonio (W, 2-1) and earlier this month capture its first conference victory in overtime vs. McNeese State (W, 1-0). But last weekend, the Islanders lost back-to-back games by matching 3-0 scores. They also dropped four straight one-goal decisions to begin the conference year vs. Southeastern Louisiana, Nicholls, Central Arkansas and Oral Roberts.
Incarnate Word has enjoyed a successful transition into D-I soccer just like the Wildcats. The Cardinals began their year at 6-1 against the non-conference portion of their schedule and have since won three of seven matches vs. the Southland.
UIW has lost two of its last three league games, beating Corpus Christi 3-0 in between a pair of one-goal defeats to Central Arkansas and Houston Baptist.
ACU and the Cardinals are tied at 3-3-1 in their all-time series. The Wildcats shut out UIW, 1-0, in their most recent meeting last October in Abilene.
