Soccer Heads to Utah for Important Games

Thursday, October 12

Cedar City, UT

4 p.m. (CT)

Abilene Christian

Southern Utah

Photo by: Kaylee Kahn

10/10/2023 12:11:00 PM | Women's Soccer

By: Ray Fink

ABILENE – Abilene Christian gets a chance to gain ground in the WAC standings with a trip to Utah for two contests this week.

The Wildcats visit Southern Utah in Cedar City for a 4 p.m. (Central) game on Thursday and then play at 11 a.m. (Central) on Sunday against Utah Tech in St. George.

ACU enters the week in sixth in the WAC with six conference points. The Cats are 7-6-1 overall and 2-3 in the league after a 3-1 loss against Utah Valley on Sunday.

ACU Storylines

CHAYSE IS ON: Chayse Thorn leads ACU and is eighth in the NCAA with 12 goals this season. She also is fourth in the NCAA in shots-on-goal percentage at .684. Thorn's five game-winning goals rank fifth in the NCAA and first in the WAC. She has 26 points this season with her two assists.

LAST MEETINGS: Jordan Michie had one goal in each of ACU's last meetings with Southern Utah and Utah Tech. It was the only goal for the Cats in a 1-1 tie with SUU and temporarily tied the game in a 2-1 loss to Utah Tech.

TEAM GOALS: The Wildcats have eight players who have scored at least one goal this season. Along with Chayse Thorn's 12, Taylor Denn, Peyton Hill and Amelia Leggett have three each. Thorn has four multi-goal games and Denn and Leggett have one each.

ON THE ASSIST: ACU has assists from 10 players this season, led by Taylor Denn with three. Chayse Thorn, Peyton Hill, McCarly Holloman, Lox Neves and Jazilyn Torres have two apiece.

IN GOAL: Savanna Alba and Lili Ross have been the primary starters in goal this season. Alba has a 0.92 goals-allowed average and Ross leads with 24 saves. ACU has seven clean sheets this season with Ross involved in five of those and Alba four.

LIMITED CHANCES: The defensive back line for the Wildcats this season has been phenomenal. WAC opponents through five games have only had 13 shots on goal.

History with SUU
Series tied 0-0-1. The teams played to a 1-1 draw last season.

Scouting the Thunderbirds

Southern Utah is 1-8-5 overall and 1-3-1 in the WAC after a 2-1 loss at Stephen F. Austin on Sunday.
Whitney Gardner leads the Thunderbirds with four goals and four assists this season.
Sammie Sofonia is second in both goals and assists with three of each.
Julia Ortega leads the WAC with 77 saves and 5.5 saves per game. She has a 2.26 goals-allowed average and one shutout.
The T-Birds are 0-3-2 at home this season.

History with UT
Utah Tech leads the series 1-0 with a 2-1 win over the Cats last season.

Scouting the Trailblazers

Utah Tech is 6-4-5 this season and 1-0-4 in the league for seven points.
Lacy Fox has seven goals to lead the team.
Brynlee Rider has five goals and five assists giving her 15 points. She shares the team points lead with Lacy Fox.
Ella Rusick has two goals this season and both have been game-winners.
Brianna Frey carries a 1.60 goals-allowed average and has 53 saves for Tech.