The women’s soccer team looks to change its offensive woes and end its two-game losing streak on Friday in San Antonio.
The Wildcats will take on non-conference opponent University of Texas-Pan American at 6 p.m. in hopes of getting back onto the winning track. After falling to University of North Texas’ Mean Green, 1-3, and following up with another loss to Texas Christian University, 0-3, ACU needs a solid win in the team’s second-to-last game before conference play begins.
“The two losses that we had were against very good teams,” said Sarah Schoch senior midfielder. “We learned that our speed of play needs to increase along with our composure on and off the ball. Our game on Friday was played with a lot of heart and fight, so we will have to carry that on with us into this weekend to get the wins that we want.”
Offensive troubles have been apparent for ACU in previous games. The Wildcats began the season flat with two losses against Tulsa and UT-El Paso, both by 0-1 scores. The offense came alive against Wayland Baptist and Texas Wesleyan, as they outscored both teams 5-1.
“Our biggest obstacle during those two games has been the speed in which we play and the decisions we make,” Schoch said. “Once we are able to pick up our speed of play and improve our decision making, I have no doubt in my mind that we will be ready to do very well conference.”
The defense, which has also struggled as of late, will look to step up and be more assertive in San Antonio.
“In the end it comes down to the all of us working as a whole and really communicating with each other and helping the defense out, so they aren’t left to deal with the other team’s attack by themselves,” said Taylor Brown, senior forward. “This week in practice, we have been trying out a few new things to see what is going to help us this weekend and in the future as well as what works best with the personnel we have.”
The UT-Pan American Broncs are in their first season with a soccer program and reside in the Western Athletic Conference. The Broncs have won four of their first six games of the season and have scored seven goals in the last three games. Even with success early in the season, ACU is expected to match up favorably against the hometown Broncs.
“I think the most important thing for us to focus on right now is staying positive and not getting down on ourselves,” Brown said. “We haven’t gotten the outcome that we’ve wanted recently, but it’s time for us to move forward and prepare for this weekend since we will be facing two really good teams.”
