Photo by: Tim Nelson
Soccer hosts 7v7 Tournament Saturday
3/31/2017 8:58:00 AM | Women's Soccer
ABILENE – Abilene Christian soccer continues its spring schedule Saturday with a 7-vs.-7 tournament at Elmer Gray Stadium. The current Wildcat roster of 16 field players and one goalkeeper will be joined by teams from Texas Permian Basin, Sul Ross and Western Texas College in addition to a team composed of ACU alumnae.
Matches begin at 11 a.m. with the championship set for 2:45 p.m. Each match lasts 20 minutes (10 minute halves, two minute halftime), no offsides will be called, and there will be two points awarded for a win and one for a tie. There will be a 10-minute golden goal period followed by penalty kicks if championship match is tied after regulation.
"Right now, our players need to see that this is just a smaller version of our game," said 10th-year head coach Casey Wilson. "We need to control the ball, stretch and widen the field, and take quality shots. We need to make most of our chances and be efficient."
The Wildcats have one game under their belt this spring, a 3-1 loss at Texas Tech in late February. ACU scored first on a strike by sophomore forward Samantha Vestal, but the Red Raiders scored less than a minute later, and added two goals in the second half with the wind at their backs.
"All things considered, I thought we fought them off in the second half and played pretty well overall even though we were dealing with a pretty serious flu bug at the time," said Wilson. " ... It's been a tough spring in terms of illness and injuries, but our starting 11 looks to be very solid once we all get healthy. And then we'll have about 29 players here in August, giving us one of our deepest benches. We have some quality players on their way here."
Playing in a 3-5-2 system, ACU's current starters look to be Caity Acosta, Chantal Kinsey and Peyton Bucklew across the back line with Shay Johnson as the defensive midfielder. Additional mids include Sophie Standifer, Chelsea Reedy, Brooke Lenz, Chloe Fifer and Megan Baer, while Vestal and Dylan Owens are up top on the attack. Rachel Johnson is the Wildcats' lone goalkeeper.
All of ACU's field players logged over 600 minutes of playing time last season for a Wildcat squad that again finished near the top of the Southland Conference with an 8-2-1 record. Fifer totaled 14 points on three goals and eight assists, and the duo of Vestal and Owens combined for 20 points and nine goals.
Matches begin at 11 a.m. with the championship set for 2:45 p.m. Each match lasts 20 minutes (10 minute halves, two minute halftime), no offsides will be called, and there will be two points awarded for a win and one for a tie. There will be a 10-minute golden goal period followed by penalty kicks if championship match is tied after regulation.
"Right now, our players need to see that this is just a smaller version of our game," said 10th-year head coach Casey Wilson. "We need to control the ball, stretch and widen the field, and take quality shots. We need to make most of our chances and be efficient."
The Wildcats have one game under their belt this spring, a 3-1 loss at Texas Tech in late February. ACU scored first on a strike by sophomore forward Samantha Vestal, but the Red Raiders scored less than a minute later, and added two goals in the second half with the wind at their backs.
"All things considered, I thought we fought them off in the second half and played pretty well overall even though we were dealing with a pretty serious flu bug at the time," said Wilson. " ... It's been a tough spring in terms of illness and injuries, but our starting 11 looks to be very solid once we all get healthy. And then we'll have about 29 players here in August, giving us one of our deepest benches. We have some quality players on their way here."
Playing in a 3-5-2 system, ACU's current starters look to be Caity Acosta, Chantal Kinsey and Peyton Bucklew across the back line with Shay Johnson as the defensive midfielder. Additional mids include Sophie Standifer, Chelsea Reedy, Brooke Lenz, Chloe Fifer and Megan Baer, while Vestal and Dylan Owens are up top on the attack. Rachel Johnson is the Wildcats' lone goalkeeper.
All of ACU's field players logged over 600 minutes of playing time last season for a Wildcat squad that again finished near the top of the Southland Conference with an 8-2-1 record. Fifer totaled 14 points on three goals and eight assists, and the duo of Vestal and Owens combined for 20 points and nine goals.
Players Mentioned
D/M
/ Women's Soccer
F/M
/ Women's Soccer
D
/ Women's Soccer
M
/ Women's Soccer
GK
/ Women's Soccer
D
/ Women's Soccer
D/M
/ Women's Soccer
M
/ Women's Soccer
M/F
/ Women's Soccer
M
/ Women's Soccer
M/F
/ Women's Soccer
F
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