ABILENE – Junior
Natalie Jones scored two goals,
Caylen Wright added another, and the ACU soccer team pulled off a major upset Sunday afternoon, topping the SFA Ladyjacks at Elmer Gray Stadium, 3-1. The Wildcats (6-7-1, 4-3-1 WAC) get two huge wins in their final home weekend of the season, and hand SFA its first conference loss of the 2021 campaign. The goals came early and often, as the 'Cats built a 3-0 lead in the first half and controlled the game from start to finish. ACU moves to 13 points in the WAC Southwest Division standings, and gets within striking distance of the conference tournament heading into the final weekend.
"I was just really proud of our team," said head coach
Casey Wilson. "It's fun when we see them execute everything we wanted to do in a game. I love that we were able to put pressure on them early and then ride it out with our really good defense. We play really well at home and it was great to feed off the crowd and get a big win over a program I have a lot of respect for."
WAC Implications
- SFA has already won the regular-season championship and have locked up the No. 1 seed in the division.
- Sam Houston sits in second place with 15 points.
- Lamar is in third place with 14 points.
- ACU is right back in the thick of it with 13 points, and can now continue to climb the latter in the standings going into the final weekend, where they will play Lamar and UTRGV. The top three in the division go to the conference tournament.
The Goals
- 15' | ACU capitalized on a corner, and after two shots were blocked and saved off the feet of
Natalie Wodka and
Hannah Gage, Wright got one to go off the deflection for the score.
- 29' |
Christina Arteaga sent a beautiful box into the box from the left side, and Wodka was there to fight through defenders to send it to Jones. The midfielder gathered and dribbled in front of her and sent one in for the score to go up 2-0.
- 43' |
Nicole Barham beat her defender on the end line, turned towards the goal and drove on the right side, and sent a perfect ball to Jones in the box, and the junior took advantage for the score to effectively put the game away in the first half.
- 54' | Lily Hargrove scored to get the Ladyjacks on the board.
The Numbers
- ACU controlled the game, leading 16-8 in shot attempts, and leading 8-3 in shots on goal. ACU allowed just one shot in the first half.
- The Wildcat defense was all over the place, never giving SFA clean looks. SFA out-shot ACU 16-10 in Nacogdoches, Texas two weeks ago, but the defense allowed just three shots on frame on Sunday.
- Wodka and Jones each tallied four shot attempts, with Wodka putting two on frame and Jones adding three on frame.
- Wright and
Hannah Gage each pu ttogether a three-shot performance.
-
Lily Foster recorded a pair of saves in net.
Up Next
- The Wildcats close the regular season needing wins against the UTRGV Vaqueros and the Lamar Cardinals next weekend on the road. ACU and UTRGV kicks off on Thursday, Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. in Edinburg, and ACU and Lamar kicks off on Saturday, Oct. 30 at 1 p.m. in Beaumont.
#GoWildcats
