ABILENE – Abilene Christian plays one more road game on Thursday before opening the home portion of the season on Sunday.
The Wildcats are 2-0 for the first time since 2019 and play at UTEP at 8 p.m. (Central) on Thursday before taking on Nicholls at 11 a.m. on Sunday in the home opener. Both games can be seen on ESPN+.
ACU won its opener last week, 1-0, at Lamar against a squad that made it to the NCAA Tournament last season and was picked to win the Southland Conference this season. The Cats made it 2-0 with a 3-0 win at Texas Southern on Sunday.
ACU Storylines
TIME CHANGE: Originally scheduled for 1 p.m., Sunday's game with Nicholls has been moved up to 11 a.m. to avoid the afternoon heat.
HOT START: For the first time, ACU has opened the season with a pair of shutout wins. The Cats blanked Southland preseason favorite Lamar, 1-0, before winning 3-0 at Texas Southern. The Wildcats are attempting their second 3-0 start at UTEP on Thursday. If successful, ACU will be going for a school-record four consecutive wins to start the season on Sunday.
HONORS: Defender
McCarly Holloman picked up the Western Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week award on Tuesday. It is the first WAC Defensive Player of the Week award for the Wildcats. Holloman was part of a back line that produced two shutouts to start the season.
KEEPERS: The Cats are off to a 2-0 start with
Lili Ross and
Julia Herges in goal. Ross went the distance and had seven saves in the shutout at Lamar. Ross and Herges split up the halves with each getting a save in the combined shutout at Texas Southern.
THORN BRACES: Chayse Thorn scored two goals in the win at Texas Southern for her third career brace. One of her other two two-goal games was against UTEP last season.
CHICKEN DINNER CLUB: The winning goals this season have been scored by
Peyton Hill (Lamar) and
Chayse Thorn (Texas Southern).
History with UTEP
- ACU leads the series: 5-2-2
- Current Streak: ACU 5 wins
- Last UTEP win: 2015 at home, 1-0
- Last ACU win: 4-0 at home in 2022
- ACU at home: 2-1-1
- ACU at UTEP: 3-1-1
Scouting UTEP
- Off to an 0-2 start with losses Northern Arizona (3-2) and at San Diego State (2-1)
- UTEP's three goals have been scored by Emerson Kidd, Ashlyn Neireiter and Talia Lopez.
- Tianna Taylor has 10 saves in two games for the Miners, allowing 2.5 goals per game.
- The Miners have recorded zero assists on three goals scored this season.
History with Nicholls
- ACU leads 6-2
- ACU at home: 4-0
- ACU at NU: 2-2
- Current Streak: ACU 3 wins
- Last ACU win: 3-0 at home in 2021
- Last Nichols win: 2-1 at home in 2017
Scouting Nicholls
- Off to an 0-2 start with losses to South Alabama and Florida International.
- Shut out in both games.
- Koryn Barrett has two shots this season and is the only Colonel with more than one.
- Keepers have 13 saves against 12 goals allowed in two games.
- Lost their first two games by a combined score of 12-0.
- Plays at Tarleton State on Friday before coming to ACU.
