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Natalie Wodka
Jeremy Enlow

Women's Soccer

Wodka wins it in overtime to kick off the spring

CANYON, Texas — Natalie Wodka scored a little over a minute into the overtime period, the defense was strong all night, and the ACU soccer team picked up an opening night victory over West Texas A&M Friday to start the spring 1-0. The Wildcats (3-2-1) could not quite crack the Lady Buffs defense most of the game, but finally found space in overtime and Wodka grabbed the game-winner from Christina Arteaga. ACU opens February on a high note and gets back on the pitch Sunday afternoon to wrap up the first weekend of the spring portion of the season.

The Goal

  • 91' | Just over a minute into overtime, the ball was sent into the box and deflected by WT. Arteaga charged it on the left side as it was leaving the box, and as she was heading towards the end line, she used her left foot to shoot it back into the box towards the middle. It was a beauty of a pass that went behind Hannah Gage, who swung her leg to fool defenders, and Wodka was there in the middle. The junior set her feet and connected from 12 yards out, sending the ball towards the upper left corner of the net for the score.

The Numbers

  • Despite a scoreless first half, ACU led 8-4 in shot attempts and 3-1 in corner kicks.
  • For the game, the Wildcats led 13-8 in shot attempts including 6-4 in shots on frame.
  • West Texas led 2-0 in corners in the second half, but neither team could take advantage.
  • The ACU defense was strong all night, holding the Lady Buffs to just eight shots, and Erin Smith recorded three saves.
  • Hannah Gage, Brennan Reuland, and Caylen Wright each recorded a team-high three shot attempts, and Gage and Wright put two apiece on goal.
  • Alyssia Anuat tallied two shots, and made an incredible defensive play to save a goal. (BELOW)

QUOTABLES

It was a good game tonight. I give a ton of credit to West Texas A&M. They were a disciplined team and had some dangerous players. We both had our chances. This is definitely a good game to build on for us.
Head Coach Casey Wilson
I’m very proud of this team. It was a great overall win for our first game this spring. Our practices leading up to this have been very beneficial and we have all been putting in a lot of work for each other. Alyssia had an amazing save in the second half and [Christina] Stina’s ball work gave us so many chances and I was just happy to be at the other end of it.
Junior Natalie Wodka

Up Next
ACU heads to Lubbock for a Super Bowl Sunday matchup with Lubbock Christian, another member of the Lone Star Conference. Kickoff is slated for 2 p.m. to wrap up the opening weekend of the spring season.