The Abilene Christian women’s soccer team reached an unfortunate end to their season Sunday, Nov. 20 in Los Angeles on a dreary, rainy day as the team fell to Chico State 1-0 in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II Championship.
The team finishes the year with a record of 20-2-1, which is the best in the program’s five-year history. Chico State (13-6-5) retains the role of Cinderella in the tournament and will face Grand Valley State, two-time defending national champion, Dec. 1 in Fla., in the NCAA semifinals.
Forward Alyx Williams scored in the 14th minute and goalkeeper Brianna Furner recorded her 10th shutout of the year en route to the win.
The loss marks the first time the Wildcats have been shut out since Texas A&M-Commerce accomplished the feat on Oct. 29, 2010, and only the second time in two seasons.
ACU women’s head soccer coach Casey Wilson expressed his gratitude and appreciation for his players’ efforts all year and the joy he got from coaching them.
“I’m happy with our overall season and won’t take any of our success for granted,” Wilson said. “Going into the season, I knew we had a great team and would go far. I wasn’t surprised one bit by our undefeated regular season. By getting here, I feel that’s a step up from last year’s conference title. Improvement is always good.”
The weather conditions surrounding the afternoon game were the headline throughout the game.
Rain began to fall late in the morning and continued to do so throughout the game, completely submerging the playing field’s surface with water. Action was stopped 11:11 before halftime so that the standing water could be cleared from the field. Following one hour of delays, play resumed, although conditions worsened as the game progressed.
Wilson said the game should have never been started or played due to the weather conditions.
“From the very beginning, it should have never been played,” he said. “Then when the officials stopped it with 11 minutes left in the first half, it never should have been resumed. It should have been stopped in the second half. It was just an unfortunate situation for the program.”
Wilson said that the sloppy playing conditions prevented the teams from playing their brand of soccer on the field.
“We played on a field that was the ultimate equalizer and were not able to come out on top,” he said. “We were not able to see what kind of team Chico State was because both teams were not able to get the ball out of the standing water the entire game.”
Sophomore forward Andrea Carpenter echoed Wilson, saying the team could not establish an identity on the playing surface.
“It was hard to do what we do best, which is move the ball on the ground and play to teammates’ feet,” Carpenter said. “The puddles were so deep that the ball couldn’t be passed or dribbled by either team.”
Chico State scored the lone goal 13:08 into the game. Blake Lopes had a long throw in that was touched by ACU goalie Elliott London, but the ball landed out of her reach near the far post. Williams then tapped the ball to the back of the net. Both teams managed only nine shots apiece.
The loss marks the end of three seniors’ collegiate soccer careers: Elliott London, Lyndsey Womack and Ashley Holton.
“We will miss all three very much,” Wilson said. “They are all special players and have done a significant amount on the field to get our program where it is today.”
“We had an amazing season and it wouldn’t have happened without every single girl who was a part of that,” Carpenter added. “We have some amazing memories that we created, and I am sad to see it end, but I’m glad I got to experience this season with these wonderful girls. No matter what it is, a conference game, a championship, or our last game of the season, our team lays everything out on the field, every single time we play, and that is something to be proud of, no matter the final score.”
