ABILENE – Abilene Christian scored two first-half goals and received some quality clearances on defense afterward as the Wildcats held on to defeat Northwestern State for the third-consecutive season, 2-0, Friday night at Elmer Gray Stadium.
Freshman forward
Dylan Owens capitalized on a turnover in the offensive third halfway through the fourth minute for the match's first goal, striking the ball over the head and outstretched arms of starting goalkeeper Brooke Burbonais for her second goal in three matches.
Thirty-eight minutes later,
Megan Baer tapped a pass around a defender at midfield to
Maria Gomez, who then found a wide-open
Kate Seay up on her left. The substitute midfielder sprinted with the ball for a good 15 or 20 yards before beating backup goalkeeper Alex Latham one-on-one with a blast to her right.
The goal was Seay's second of the season and third of her career.
Burbonais left the match with about nine minutes left in the first half after colliding at the post with freshman midfielder
Sophie Standifer.
ACU (3-7-2, 2-1-1 SLC) finished the match with 14 shots and five corners, four of which were taken in the second half. Senior
Lindsey Jones nearly made it 3-0 game early in the second half, trying to leg whip a
Natalie Throneberry corner kick from inside the six-yard box but Latham was there to make the save. Throneberry again was denied an assist in the 66th minute after one of the Lady Demon defenders cleared a
Leslie Snider shot off the goalline.
The Wildcats also had a goal waved off during one of their six offside penalties.
Owens led all players with six shots, four of which were on net, while three of her teammates recorded two.
Northwestern State (3-7-2, 0-3-1 SLC) let some big offensive opportunities slip through their feet as well, missing wide on several open looks in the first half as the Lady Demons finished with a 7-5 advantage in shots. They continued to possess the ball for long stretches in the second half but could never create enough space inside the 18-yard box to fire a shot.
Goalkeeper
Sydney Newton made six saves in earning her first and the team's second shutout of the season as it was the Wildcats first since playing to a scoreless draw earlier this season against UC Irvine. For Newton it was her third complete game shutout, matching her efforts from 2013 vs. Houston Baptist and 2014 vs. Wayland Baptist. She's also combined for five shutouts in her career with junior classmate
Kelsey Dombrowski.
Bourbonais made two saves in 35:49 and Latham stopped five over the final 54:11.
The Wildcats complete their homestand Sunday at 1 p.m. vs. Central Arkansas. ACU and the Bears played to a 2-2 tie last season.
