BEAUMONT, Texas – Abilene Christian soccer was an absolute offensive force Friday night as the Wildcats fired 38 shots and struck seven corner kicks in a 6-2 thumping of Southland Conference rival Lamar for their fourth-consecutive victory.
The six goals are the most scored by ACU (6-7-2, 5-1-1 SLC) in any conference match and rank second all-time behind a 14-goal outpouring vs. College of the Southwest in 2007. The Wildcats also set new single-conference match records tonight with their 38 shots and 16 points (six goals, four assists).
The old record of 34 shots was set against Texas Woman's in September of 2011, while the previous points record of 14 was set vs. Angelo State in November of 2010.
"Lamar scored a nice goal on us early but it was great to see us respond with a couple before the first half ended," said head coach
Casey Wilson. "We put a lot of pressure on them … and the approach these ladies have been taking toward these games of late has been focused and businesslike. They're just trying to do the little things correctly and keep it simple."
The Cardinals (6-10, 2-5 SLC) grabbed the match's first lead in the 12th minute when Juliana Ocampo found Jordan Mulnix in front of the goal for her 10th score of the year, but the Wildcats would take a 2-1 lead into the break thanks to strikes by
Chloe Fifer and
Caity Acosta.
Fifer tied the score at 1-1 in the 35th minute with her first goal of the year, punching back a
Kate Seay shot that ricocheted off the crossbar, and then Acosta booted in a
Maria Gomez corner kick from inside the goalmouth at the start of the 38th minute.
Three minutes into the second half, ACU received its eventual game-winner when
Dylan Owens smoked a shot that goalkeeper Lauren Lovejoy deflected out to
Sophie Standifer, who then rifled the ball into the netting for her fourth goal of the fall.
Standifer's goal briefly gave her the team lead for all of 12 minutes when
Lindsey Jones made it a 4-1 game with a strike from the left side off a pass from
Natalie Throneberry. ACU continued to press until the very last second of the match, getting an own goal in the 86th minute and a score from Seay with only 24 seconds remaining in regulation.
Mulnix also would score a second goal for the Cardinals during an exciting final 10 minutes.
Of ACU's 38 shots, 22 came in the second half with Lovejoy stopping nine of them and 16 overall. Conversely, the Wildcat defense limited Lamar to only 12 shots and junior goalkeeper
Sydney Newton finished with three saves.
Owens, who finished the match with two assists, led all players tonight with eight shots and put five on net.
The Wildcats conclude their road trip Sunday at 1 p.m. at McNeese, which will be their final away game of the 2015 season. ACU plays host to Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston State next weekend at Elmer Gray Stadium and concludes its campaign at home Friday, Oct. 30 vs. Incarnate Word.
