ABILENE - Abilene Christian soccer fell to Utah Valley 4-1 at Elmer Gray Stadium on Thursday night, with the Wildcats' lone goal coming in the second half on
Peyton Hill's first goal of the season.
ACU will make its final push to qualify for the Western Athletic Conference Tournament when it closes the regular season versus California Baptist at 1 p.m. Sunday at Elmer Gray Stadium on International Day.
The Wildcats must secure a win over the Lancers and rely on Utah Valley to defeat Tarleton State and Utah Tech to beat Southern Utah to earn the fourth and final bid to the tournament.
Thursday's match began with Utah Valley quickly taking control, as Faith Webber's shot in the first minute was saved by ACU's
Bella Medrano. The Wolverines opened the scoring with Ruby Hladek finding the net in the seventh minute, giving them an early 1-0 lead.
Despite the visitors' aggressive offense, which included 12 shots in the first half, Medrano made multiple saves to keep her team in the game. Webber extended the lead with a goal in the 27th minute, assisted by Mia Owens and Josie Shepherd, bringing the score to 2-0 by the end of the first half.
The second half saw the visiting team extend its lead with a goal by Tylie Miller in the 52nd minute, assisted by Nixan Jackson, bringing the score to 3-0. The Wildcats responded quickly when Hill found the back of the net in the 55th minute, assisted by
Shakira Kafero-Roberts, narrowing the gap to 3-1. It was Hill's first goal of the season.
Despite several attempts by both teams, including multiple saves by Medrano for the home side, Utah Valley's Lulie MacFarlane scored again in the 78th minute, assisted by Sadie Beardall, finalizing the score at 4-1. The match concluded with the Wolverines maintaining their lead, despite the Wildcats' efforts to close the gap.
Hill scored the lone goal for Abilene Christian, converting one of her two shots. Medrano recorded 15 saves, with 10 in the first half and five in the second. Roberts contributed an assist, adding to her team's efforts in the match.
