ABILENE – After clinching a spot in the 2018 Southland Conference Tournament, the ACU soccer team gets set to cap the regular season this weekend at Elmer Gray Stadium. The Wildcats (11-5-1, 6-3-1 Southland) will host the Cardinals of the University of the Incarnate Word on Friday, Oct. 26 for Senior Night with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m. The team will recognize its six seniors prior to the start of the game to honor their outstanding careers at Abilene Christian University.
THE SERIES… ACU leads the all-times series that dates back to 2008, when both schools were a member of the Lone Star Conference at the NCAA Division II level. The Wildcats are 7-3-2 all-time against the Cardinals, and 4-0-1 at the Division I level, which dates back to 2013. ACU has not lost to UIW since Sept. 2012, falling 3-1 in San Antonio. The Wildcats are 5-0-1 in the last six matchups, with the tie coming in 2014. ACU leads the series 3-1-1 all-time in Abilene, which includes games at the Wildcat Soccer Pitch and Elmer Gray Stadium. ACU has outscored the Cardinals 10-3 in the last three matches.
POST-SEASON POSITIONING… ACU currently sits in fifth place in the conference standings with a total of 19 points, equaling the McNeese Cowgirls in that category. If the two teams finish with the same point total, McNeese would finish ahead of ACU due to the head-to-head tiebreaker; McNeese beat ACU 1-0 in double overtime in Abilene back on Oct. 12. The top eight teams in the league's final standings will play in Beaumont on Halloween to open the postseason, and Incarnate Word is currently holding that final eighth spot with 10 points, one ahead of Stephen F. Austin. UIW clinches a spot with a win or an SFA loss.
GETCHA BROOMS OUT… The Wildcats pushed their winning streak to three games last weekend with a pair of shutout victories on the road. ACU topped Sam Houston State 3-0 in Huntsville, Texas behind a two-goal performance from
Christina Arteaga and a late score from
Samantha Vestal. The Wildcats had to work extra hard in order to top Stephen F. Austin in Nacogdoches, scoring in the 102nd minute in double overtime to pick up the 1-0 victory. Arteaga recorded her third score of the weekend to clinch the sweep.
GOALKEEPER OF THE WEEK… Redshirt junior
Rachel Johnson picked up her second weekly award of the season after being named Southland Goalkeeper of the Week. Johnson recorded a pair of shutouts, pushing her season total to seven and her career total to eight. The Coppell native recorded nine total saves, moving her season total to 60. Johnson leads the Southland this season with a 0.42 goals against average and a .923 save percentage. Her seven shutouts are tied for the league lead as well.
ACU'S DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE… The Wildcat defense has been nothing short of spectacular in 2018. ACU has recorded 11 shutouts this season, matching a single-season all-time program record (2011). The Wildcats allowed 21 shot attempts this past weekend, but only 9 were placed on frame. ACU leads the Southland Conference in goals allowed (9), goals allowed per game (0.53), goals against average (0.50), and shutouts (11). Johnson and
Erin Smith have combined for an .895 save percentage, which ranks seventh nationally. ACU's .647 shutout percentage ranks ninth in the country as well.
ONE FINAL TIME… Six players will play in front of the fans at Elmer Gray Stadium for the final time in their careers.
Caity Acosta,
Rachel Johnson,
Hannah O'Donnell,
Dylan Owens,
Chelsea Reedy, and
Sophie Standifer will put on their uniforms in Abilene one more time. The six have combined to win 36 games, including 27 in the Southland Conference. The ladies tallied a .628 winning percentage in conference games since the start of the 2015 season. The group is enjoying its best season in their time at ACU, and will play in their second conference tournament on Oct. 31.
SCOUTING INCARNATE WORD… The Cardinals (3-11-1, 3-6-1 Southland) are coming off a weekend split on the road against Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston State. After falling 2-1 to SFA, the Cardinals put together its best performance of the season in a 3-0 shutout of the Bearkats. UIW is in position to reach its first Southland Conference Tournament, and would get there with a win or a Stephen F. Austin loss. Senior Sabrina Martineau leads the team with three goals this season, while Senior Sydney Huntsinger leads the squad with 62 saves in net.
