ABILENE – Abilene Christian's Southland Conference title hopes took a hit Sunday as the Wildcats allowed a game-tying goal in the 82nd minute to Sam Houston State's Allie Johnson and played to a 2-2 tie at Elmer Gray Stadium on a clear and breezy fall afternoon in the Big Country.
The draw dropped the Wildcats into third place, three points behind leader Stephen F. Austin (7-0-2), which defeated Incarnate Word today, 2-0, and one-point behind idle Houston Baptist (7-2). The Huskies won their seventh match of the season Friday, 3-1, vs. McNeese State.
The Wildcats' title picture is slightly foggier because of the deadlock. ACU will have to win Tuesday at home vs. SFA (3 p.m.) and again Friday in its season finale vs. UIW (7 p.m.), but they'll also need SFA to lose at Sam Houston State and for HBU to go winless against Lamar and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in order to claim the regular-season championship.
This was a match ACU needed to win to keep pace with the Ladyjacks and Huskies and it certainly appeared they had the desired result in hand after scoring twice within a span of two minutes midway through the second half.
Kate Seay scored her fourth goal of the season to tie the match at 1-1 in the 70th minute following a deflection off a defender's boot. Meagan Baer sent the ball into the penalty area from the right side, and then Owens first tried to dump it back to
Leslie Snider but the ball rolled back to Seay after a defender's leg kicked it back. Seay immediately rifled a blast into the left corner of the netting past two defenders and a diving Kylie Hambleton.
Hambleton leaned slightly to her left after seeing Seay with the ball, and that extra inch was all the reserve forward needed to get one past the Bearkats' talented netminder.
Seconds later Owens scored the go-ahead goal on a very opportunistic play, tracking down and staying with
Sydney Newton's goal kick after a Bearkat defender headed the ball straight up in the air. Owens settled the ball with her left knee right in an area right in between the center circle and penalty area, but had to win it back from Sam Houston's Caitlin Schwartz after losing the ball for a split second. Once Owens picked off Schwartz, she flew past two additional defenders and ripped the perfect shot above the head and arm of Hambleton two steps past the 18-yard line.
The goal was Owens fifth of the season, giving her 16 points. The freshman also has scored at least two points during the Wildcats' last four conference matches.
ACU's only lead of the match lasted 10 minutes as a turnover at midfield led to Johnson's fifth goal of the fall. One of the Wildcats' midfielders took the ball away from her opponent, and ran a few steps toward the ACU goal with the intent of escaping a double-team by passing the ball to either of her two center backs. Unfortunately, the pass split the defenders and Johnson shook off both
Chantal Kinsey and
Kelsie Roberts near the top of the penalty area before beating Newton on her right side.
Making matters worse for ACU was that Kinsey suffered an injury on the play and had to be helped off the pitch by members of the Wildcats' Sports Medicine team.
ACU had two additional looks at the net in regulation following the Johnson goal.
Lindsey Jones had a shot sail wide in the 84th minute and Hambleton saved a
Peyton Bucklew attempt following one of nine Wildcat corner kicks.
The Wildcats couldn't generate any shots on goal on their first two corners of the second half, and on two other occasions header attempts by Baer sailed wide of the post. Baer missed once in the 79th minute and again in the 96th minute.
ACU recorded two shots off during the first overtime session and had four in double overtime, but two of their tries were blocked. Gomez also missed a header off a
Natalie Throneberry corner kick and Hambleton made her 11th and final save vs. Owens in the 104th minute.
Newton made five saves on 13 shots this afternoon, the first of which went in at the 11:25 mark following a Mariah Titus corner kick.
A poor pass along the Wildcats' defensive line initiated Sam Houston's first goal. ACU was intending to pass the ball parallel to the endline, but the right-footed kick hooked away from the intended target and rolled out of bounds, giving the Bearkats their first scoring opportunity of the match.
Titus' corner kick was headed up in the goalbox by Kylie Dick and landed right in front of Megan Bennett, who dove toward the ground and headed the ball off the post and Owens, who was helping Newton defend the goalline.
The goal was Bennett's first of the season.
Jones led all players today with six shots, two of which were on net, whole Owens and Gomez each recorded five for the Wildcats.
ACU outshot Sam Houston State for the match, 26-13, including 16-6 in the second half when the Wildcats had the wind at their backs.
