The women’s soccer team will look to conclude its 2014 campaign above .500 as the Wildcats fight for a couple of wins in the final two games of the season. Currently at 7-8-2, ACU will take on Lamar (4-10-1, 2-5-1) at noon Friday and McNeese State (6-8-1, 4-4-0) at 1:30 p.m. Sunday. Both games will take place at Shotwell Stadium.
“I expect both teams to come out and be physical and play hard,” said Casey Wilson, head coach. “Both teams have had their share of ups and downs, just like us, but really it all comes down to who can put together a full 90-minute game and execute.”
The Wildcats were winless in their last three matches, suffering back-to-back losses to top-ranked Stephen F. Austin, 1-0, and to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 2-1. Last weekend, ACU traveled to San Antonio looking to get back onto the winning track against one of the lower-level teams of the Southland Conference, Incarnate Word.
The Wildcats were unable to push ahead, as a well-rested Cardinal team forced a game-tying goal in the second half. The tie would stand all the way into two overtime periods before ending in a 1-1 draw, giving the Wildcats their second tie of the season.
“Against Corpus, we had plenty of chances to score, especially in the first 20 minutes, but we weren’t able to take advantage of that,” Wilson said. “And then, unfortunately when you go on the road and face a team who didn’t have a Friday game, that’s a disadvantage. I felt like we were the better team on the field, but you still have to execute and play your style, and I feel like we struggled in that.”
Lamar is currently in a three-game slide as well, dropping its last game to McNeese in overtime, 1-0. The Cardinals have not proven to be a solid road team, with just one win in six attempts this season coming from a 1-0 win against San Jose State in their season opener. However, Lamar leads the Southland in saves recorded by its goalkeepers. They are the only team in conference to hit the century mark in saves made so far this season.
McNeese has won three of five games and is riding a two-game winning streak. The Cowboys will play Incarnate Word Friday before making the trip to Abilene. McNeese has also struggled on the road, recording a 1-6 record away from Lake Charles, Louisiana.
“There’s a lot of competition in this league filled with a lot of great players and teams,” said Leslie Snider, freshman midfielder from Wylie. “But we know we can stay with any team we play. We just have to be sure not to beat ourselves.”
