ABILENE – The ACU soccer team heads out east for the weekend to put a bow on the non-conference portion of the schedule. The Wildcats will take on a pack of Lions, with stops in Florence, Ala. and Pine Bluff, Ark. on Friday, Sept. 7 and Sunday, Sept. 9. ACU will take on the University of North Alabama Lions at 7 p.m. before meeting the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Lions at 1 p.m.
THE SERIES… ACU will match up with both schools for the first time. North Alabama resides in the Atlantic Sun (ASUN) conference, while Arkansas-Pine Bluff plays in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).
KEEP HOLDING ON… The Wildcats held on late to top the New Mexico State Aggies, 3-2, last Sunday at Elmer Gray Stadium. ACU stormed out to a 3-0 first-half lead, with scores from three different players. After a two-hour lightning delay just after halftime, NMSU got back in the game with a pair of goals to cut the Wildcat lead to 3-2. The home team held on with defense in the final minutes to preserve the win and stay undefeated in Abilene.
IT'S NO "PFLU"-KE… Pflugerville native
Christina Arteaga put on quite the performance Sunday afternoon, earning her another Honorable Mention Player of the Week honor in the Southland Conference. Arteaga scored the game's first goal in the 19th minute off a deflected save, and added an assist four minutes later to put the team up 2-0. The sophomore put a quality shot on goal, but the Aggie goalkeeper got her hands on it, only to see the ball deflect to the other side where
Dylan Owens was there for the score. Arteaga led the team with three points in the win. This season, the midfielder leads the team with 16 shots, including 10 on frame. Her 5 points are a team-best, and her 420 minutes played are third on the squad, with only
Shay Johnson (440) and
Brooke Lenz (439) tallying more.
"STAMP"-ING HER SPOT… Freshman
Ashley Stamps has added valuable minutes off the bench this season for head coach
Casey Wilson. The San Antonio native has played in all five matches, and has recorded nine shot attempts in her rookie campaign. Stamps scored her first career goal Sunday in style, after a great pass from teammate
Samantha Vestal. With eight seconds left, the rookie sprinted down the field, and got off a rocket of a shot with just three seconds on the clock. The ball left her foot and hit the net with one second remaining to put her team up 3-0.
TALE OF TWO HALVES… The 2018 season has been a tale of two periods for ACU thusfar. The Wildcats are outscoring opponents 3-0 in the first half of games, with all three goals coming against New Mexico State. Until that match, the team had been in four scoreless affairs at the intermission. In the second half, however, the opponents have the edge, outscoring ACU 5-0 in that 45-minute period. However, included in that stat are Big 12 opponents Baylor and Texas Tech, who both earned wins over ACU in August.
SCOUTING NORTH ALABAMA… The Lions (5-1) are off to an impressive start in its first season of NCAA Division I competition. UNA opened its season with five straight wins before suffering its first loss last Sunday at Vanderbilt. The Lions were also shutout for the first time, dropping a 4-0 decision. The Lions are currently tied with Southern Mississippi as the top scoring teams in Division I soccer with 3.80 goals per match. UNA scored 18 goals in its first four matches and then downed Jacksonville State 1-0 before being shutout at Vanderbilt.
SCOUTING ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF… The Lions (0-2) have dropped their two games by a combined score of 11-0 to Little Rock and Central Arkansas. Karissa Fenwick leads the team with three shot attempts, while Rebecca Holmes had added two shots so far this season.
