Nicholls State Live Stats
ABILENE – The Southland Conference's last two remaining unbeaten teams will square off Friday afternoon in Thibodaux, La., when Abilene Christian make its first trip to Nicholls State for a 4 p.m. match.
Both the Wildcats and Colonels begin the week with overall records of 8-0-1 after each swept their first weekend of league competition. ACU defeated Sam Houston State, 2-1, and Houston Baptist, 1-0, in its Southland Conference debut, while Nicholls State hammered McNeese State, 3-0, and earned a 2-1 decision at first-year program Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
Nicholls' win over the Islanders pushed the Colonels' winning streak to seven, a stretch which started on Aug. 30 following a 1-1 tie with South Alabama. ACU, meanwhile, has won six straight since playing UTEP to a 1-1 deadlock on Sept. 1.
Not only will Friday's showcase match feature two of the league's best defenses, but also its two most prominent offensive stars: ACU senior
Andrea Carpenter and Nicholls sophomore Spencer Valdespino.
A native of Spring Hill, Fla., Valdespino currently leads the Southland in goals (9), game-winning goals (4) points (20) and shots (41), but Carpenter is very close behind with 18 points on seven goals and four assists. The Wildcat forward has done all this while averaging just over three shots per match.
Carpenter also has received a great deal of help on offense with teammates
Alyssa Gerner (4) and
Jacey Ferrara (3) ranked among the league leaders in assists. Ferrara, a senior, is tied for second on ACU with freshman
Natalie Throneberry with three goals, and newcomers
Tiffany Ysassi and
Emily Sumrall each have two.
In addition to Valdespino's nine goals, the Colonels' Hannah Savoie has scored on four occasions, while several more of their teammates have contributed two or more goals. Colonel Jess Coates was the first Southland player this season to record a hat trick on Aug. 23 vs. Southern, and Valdespino joined her Friday after scoring all three goals in the win over the Cowgirls.
Nicholls currently leads the Southland with 32 goals and 87 points, while ACU's Sunday opponent – Southeastern Louisiana – is in second place with 27 goals and 83 points. The Lions are tied with the Wildcats and Colonels for first place in the conference at 2-0-0, and would still be unbeaten if not for a 1-0 overtime loss on Sept. 1 at Southern Miss.
Southeastern won both of last weekend's conference matches 1-0 over McNeese and Corpus Christi, but earlier in the month, the Lions thrashed teams from Mississippi Valley, Alcorn State and Texas Southern by a combined score of 20-0. Southeastern's offense is led by Kelsey Salcido and Casey Peacock, each of who has six goals and is ranked among the league's top-five leaders in points scored. Salcido has 19 points as she ranks first in the Southland with seven assists and Peacock has 15.
Against the league's two most potent offenses, the Wildcats must continue to receive stellar performances from a defense that's already pitched seven shutouts and allowed just 10.8 shots and 0.56 goals per match. Both Sam Houston State and Houston Baptist tested the ACU defense by launching a combined 37 shots, but only 10 found their way to freshman goalkeeper
Sydney Newton, who ranks second in the league with a 0.51 GAA and fourth with a .875 save percentage.
The Southland's best goalkeeper overall, however, has been Southeastern's Hope Sabadash. Through nine games she has already pitched four complete-game shutouts to go along with a .941 save percentage (48 saves) and 0.35 GAA. Nicholls' Amanda Boylson has been quite good as well with a 1.04 GAA and shutout win over McNeese.
