ABILENE - Goals from second-year players
Natalie Throneberry and
Leslie Snider plus five saves from sophomore goalkeeper Kelsey Dombrowksi provided Abilene Christian soccer with a solid 2-0 win over Lamar on a beautiful, sunny afternoon at Shotwell Stadium.
The victory evened the Wildcats' overall record at 8-8-2 and lifted their Southland mark to 5-3-2, while the Cardinals fell to 4-11-1 and 2-6-1 after being shutout for the fourth consecutive match.
Lamar certainly generated enough opportunities, but the ACU defenders blocked four shots and didn't allow for a corner kick until the second half. Dombrowski - in pitching her second shutout of the fall - made three saves in the first half, including two on Taylor Mitchell who is the older sister of ACU's leading scorer
Baylee Mitchell.
The elder Mitchell came off the bench, played 30 minutes and had shots turned away by Dombrowski in the 38th and 43rd minutes.
Less than a minute after Mitchell's second attempt, the Wildcats broke the scoreless tie with a brilliant header drilled in by
Natalie Throneberry. The goal originated at midfield where
Nicci Nelson carried the ball through some pressure before kicking it toward the sideline and senior midfielder
Madison Brown.
Brown then took a step or two forward with the ball before dropping a 30-yard pass in between
Deonna Calhoun and the endline. Calhoun hustled to get the ball, turned the corner, and delivered a sharp cross that Throneberry rifled past Lamar goalkeeper Bailey Fontenot.
Thronberry's goal was her second of the season and first since the UT-Pan American match on Sept. 12.
Lamar appeared more than determined to score its equalizer in the opening moments of the second half, but couldn't generate any shots off back-to-back corners in the 55th minute. However, when the Wildcats received their first corner of the match a minute later, they capitalized on a few lucky bounces to make it a 2-0 score.
Madison Brown took the corner from the far side and sent the ball into the middle of the 18-yard box, from where it was kicked out toward the sideline. Senior
Tiffany Ysassi eventually got a handle on the ball, dribbled up through the corner of the six-yard box and fired a shot that was hooked inside the near post by
Leslie Snider for her her third goal of the season.
Ysassi's assist gives her five on the year to lead all Wildcats.
ACU ripped eight more shots for the remainder of the half, while the Cardinals responded with seven plus one additional corner kick that resulted in another blocked shot for the Wildcat defense.
But after the Wildcats took their 2-0 lead, Lamar couldn't get off another shot until the 64th minute when Jannet Hernandez had one of her three attempts saved by Dombrowski. She also had a shot blocked and another sail high in the 85th minute, which was Lamar's last good look of the match.
Lamar's Marie Lund finished the match with a team-high four shots, three of which were taken during a 12-minute window in the second half from the 67th to 79th minutes. One of those shots was saved, another blocked, and another missed wide.
Fontenot saved eight shots, including two in the closing minutes. In the 86th minute she stopped a breakaway attempt by Calhoun and in the 89th caught a ball off the foot of senior
Sarah Schoch.
Today's win guaranteed the Wildcats their second consecutive winning season within the Southland conference as their 2014 season will come to an end Sunday at 1:30 p.m. vs. McNeese State. ACU's six-woman senior class of Madison and
Taylor Brown, Schoch,
Katie Stivers,
Emily Sumrall and Ysassi will be recognized during a pregame ceremony.
Last year's team was 7-5 vs. the Southland Conference.
