ABILENE – Abilene Christian soccer faces off against North Texas and Arkansas this weekend. The Wildcats' home opener against Mean Green is Friday at 7 p.m. at Elmer Gray Stadium. They'll then head to Fayetteville, Ark. for a Sunday 1 p.m. match vs. Razorbacks.
Admission to Friday's match is free; however, fans will be asked to make a donation to the Ybarra Family during halftime.
Earlier this month Abilene Police Department Det. Elise Ybarra was killed in a vehicle crash on I-20 outside of Abilene when her department vehicle was struck by another car. She and two other detectives were en route to Dallas to attend the Crimes Against Children Conference.
Det. Ybarra is survived by her husband, Adam, and their 10-month-old daughter, Noelle.
Adam Ybarra serves ACU as its Director of Sports Medicine.
The Abilene Police Officer's Association has created a donation account at First Financial Bank and an online option at https://squareup.com/store/APOA-Ybarra-Family.
Immediate needs are for baby Noelle include food, formula, diapers and clothes.
Against North Texas: The Wildcats and the Mean Green have matched up three times since 2014 and North Texas has defeated ACU in all three prior meetings by scores of 3-1, 3-0, 3-2. The Wildcats jumped out to a 2-0 lead last season by the 10th minute on goals from
Danielle Otto and
Shay Johnson but a goal in the first half and two in the second half by UNT sealed a 3-2 defeat.
Against Arkansas: This is the first matchup between the Wildcats and Razorbacks. Arkansas holds a 6-1-0 advantage on Southland Conference opponents going into Sunday's game. ACU has only seen competition from Texas A&M in the SEC, losing 4-1 to the Aggies early in the 2015 season.
Coach's Quote
"We're excited to be at home this Friday to host an always tough University of North Texas team," head coach
Casey Wilson said. "The players should be up for the test Friday so it will be a good game. Though we have never played Arkansas we know they are a tough and physical team. These games will continue to test us as we move into conference play."
Follow Along: Live stats for Friday's game against North Texas can be found
here and live video feed of the contest
here. Fans follow Sunday's game at Arkansas on the SEC Network+ (
online only).
Quick Kicks:
- Freshman Christina Arteaga leads the team with three points, one goal and 11 attempts
- Junior Dylan Owens scored the game winner against UTEP in overtime, giving ACU its first victory of the season
- ACU has 15 returners and 15 newcomers on the 2017 roster
- This is head coach Casey Wilson's 11th year with the team. He is the architect and only head coach in program history. He also is one of 23 NCAA DI women's soccer coaches still with the team that they founded.
