ABILENE – The ACU women's soccer team (4-2-1) begins the "real" season Friday night at Elmer Gray Stadium with a matchup with the Houston Baptist Huskies. The Wildcats look to build on a big final non-conference weekend which saw a convincing victory over North Alabama and a tie with the No. 22 Baylor Lady Bears in one of the most thrilling soccer matches one could ever watch. Kickoff Friday night against HBU is slated for 7 p.m.
FOLLOW THE GAME
- ACU vs. Houston Baptist: Friday, Sept. 20 – 7 p.m. (Live Stats)
SERIES HISTORY
- ACU owns a 4-2 advantage in the series with HBU, but is looking for revenge after a tough road loss in Houston last season. ACU led 25-6 in shot attempts, but fell 1-0 in double overtime after a goal was scored in the 107th minute.
- The Wildcats lead the series 3-0 all-time in games played in Abilene.
ACU STORYLINES
- The Wildcats are coming off a game that featured five goals scored against North Alabama, the most the team has scored in a single game since Oct. 2017 against Northwestern State.
- 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 with the 1-1 draw against No. 22 Baylor.
- ACU's 732 fans in attendance set a new Elmer Gray Stadium record.
- Freshman
Natalie Jones, who scored a pair of goals against North Alabama, leads the team with four scores. That total ranks fourth in the Southland Conference.
- Junior
Christina Arteaga's shot total of 25 and shots on goal total of 11 both rank second in the league.
- Senior
Shay Johnson, who scored a goal on a header against Baylor, became the first player to score a goal against a power-five school since
Dylan Owens scored against Arkansas in 2017.
SCOUTING HOUSTON BAPTIST (1-6)
- The Huskies are looking to end a six-game losing streak after winning their season-opener against Prairie View A&M. The tough schedule included North Texas, Texas State, Buffalo, #17 TCU, and UTSA.
- HBU has not scored a goal in the last four games, with its last goal coming against Texas State on Sept. 1.
- Avery Cortez leads the way with three scores and seven total points, while Xya Balderas has tallied a pair of goals.
- Ashtyn Franks has started all seven games in net, and has recorded 33 total saves.
