BEAUMONT – Sophomore
Shay Johnson and freshman
Christina Arteaga each scored for Abilene Christian in its 3-2 loss at Lamar on Sunday at the LU Soccer Complex. The Wildcats battled back from a 2-0 deficit with strikes in the 68th and 77th minutes only to watch in disbelief as Lamar's Marie Lund headed in Lucy Ashworth's corner kick with only 2:17 remaining in regulation.
The Wildcats also surrendered a corner kick goal 36 seconds (Juli Rocha from Rubi Villegas) before halftime, leaving head coach
Casey Wilson feeling a bit dejected.
"It was a tough game," he said. "We have paid for our mistakes this year. We gave up a corner with less than one minute to go in the first half and another corner with less than three minutes left in the game and that was the difference."
The loss dropped ACU to 6-9 overall and 4-4 Southland Conference while Lamar remained tied for first in the league with McNeese at 12-3-1 and 7-1 SLC. The Cowgirls won its match today over Incarnate Word, 7-0.
Lamar extended its lead to 2-0 in the 61st minute on Kelso Perkins sixth goal of the season, but the Wildcats responded quickly after Johnson slipped a pass from senior
Peyton Bucklew under the crossbar seven minutes later. Arteaga then buried the equalizer past a diving Lauren Lovejoy, who finished the match with nine saves on 22 shots faced.
Lovejoy made her final stop with 53 seconds to go, robbing Arteaga of a second potential game-tying goal. ACU outshot the Cardinals 22-11 and place half its shots on frame.
Wildcat goalkeeper
Erin Smith grabbed four saves in bringing her season total to 48 saves on the season.
"We fought back and our girls tied the game 2-2," added Wilson. "We outshot and controlled the ball against teams like we did today but still haven't been getting the desired results, so we'll regroup and get ready next week," Wilson said.
The Wildcats are back home for the final time this season Friday and Sunday when they play host to Sam Houston State and Stephen F. Austin. Friday's contest is slated the start at 7 p.m. and Sunday's matchup is at 1 p.m.
