Abilene Christian
Central Arkansas
10/23/2026 3:10:00 PM | Women's Soccer
CONWAY, Ark. — With only three games remaining in conference play, the Wildcats will travel for the last time before the conference tournament.
With a conference-wide off day on Thursday, ACU heads to Arkansas to take on the Bears from Central Arkansas. The last time these two teams played was in Abilene on Oct. 4, drawing 1-1.
ACU enters the match as the only unbeaten team remaining in the conference with a 4-0-3 record after Eastern Kentucky lost on Oct. 15 to Tarleton State. Leading the Red Division, the Wildcats can clinch a spot in the UAC tournament on Sunday with a win over Central Arkansas if Little Rock loses to Tarleton.
The Wildcats have maintained their high-powered defense throughout the season, allowing only 10 goals in 15 games, the lowest mark in the UAC. Goalkeeper Bella Medrano leads the conference in goals against average, save percentage and total shutouts this season.
Medrano's save percentage sits at .904, which puts her in third place in NCAA Div. I soccer. Following her performances against West Georgia and Eastern Kentucky, Medrano was named UAC Goalkeeper of the week on Oct. 19 for her second such award of the season.
This was ACU's seventh recognition of the season, with two going to Audrey Coppinger and two now for Medrano. Gracie Kelly has also been recognized once by the conference, and on Oct. 20, she was named to the Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week, following her strong defensive stand against UWG and EKU, while she also scored her first career goal against the Wolves.
Another goal scorer in the match against West Georgia was Addison Briscoe, who is tied for the conference lead with eight goals this season, the most by a Wildcat freshman since 2019.
Briscoe scored her fifth goal of the season in ACU's last match against Central Arkansas in a game where the Wildcats played from behind after allowing a first half goal.
Since the two teams played at the beginning of the month, the Bears have gone 3-1, with their only loss coming on the road against Eastern Kentucky.
The Wildcats are 3-1-2 in true road games this season, including a 3-0-1 record in conference matchups. On the other side of the field, the Bears are 6-2 in home games this season and 3-1 in conference home games.
Sunday's match will kick off at 1 p.m. and will stream on ESPN+.
