ABILENE – Wow. What a night. A raucous crowd at Elmer Gray Stadium witnessed history Sunday, and got an effort and performance for the ages from the ACU soccer team. The Wildcats battled the #22 Lady Bears of Baylor to the very end, earning a 1-1 tie with a nationally-ranked opponent. After unveiling its 2018 Southland Conference Championship banner and honoring six seniors, the Wildcats took a lead into halftime, and survived a 15-6 disadvantage in shot attempts in the second half and the overtimes to force the tie.
The Goals
- ACU senior
Shay Johnson was the beneficiary off a perfect corner kick in the 25th minute from
Christina Arteaga. Johnson rose above the defenders in the box, and used a header to put the Wildcats up 1-0.
- Baylor answered in the 56th minute when Taylor Moon took a one-on-one and score to tie the game.
The Numbers
- ACU was 0-12 against "power-five" schools (teams from the Pac-12, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, or ACC) in its Division I history. The Wildcats earned their first-ever tie in a game of this magnitude.
- ACU outshot Baylor 9-4 in the first half, but the Lady Bears held a 19-15 advantage for the game.
- The Wildcats led 10-3 in corners earned.
- Johnson and Arteaga each recorded three shot attempts, while
Samantha Vestal,
Natalie Jones, and
Emily Heidman each tallied two.
- Redshirt senior
Rachel Johnson was spectacular in net, tallying five saves in 110 minutes of action. It was the first start of the season for the veteran.
- The 732 fans in attendance set a new Elmer Gray Stadium record.
- There were 23 total fouls and three cards handed out in a very physical game.
- The possession total finished 50% for each side.
Up Next
- The Wildcats will host the Houston Baptist Huskies in the Southland Conference opener next Friday, Sept. 20 at Elmer Gray Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.
