The soccer team returns home to face Houston Baptist Friday after a falling to Northwestern State and playing to a 0-0 draw against Central Arkansas.
“We’re coming off a long, tough weekend, so I think we’re all really looking forward to enjoying our home crowd and field,” said junior midfielder Chloe Fifer. “For this Friday’s game, we are looking to be mentally unified, and we’re still really working on making our positioning fluent from defense to offense.”
Heading into the game Friday, senior forward Natalie Throneberry leads the team in goals with three after scoring in the first half against Northwestern State last weekend.
Behind Throneberry, there are five different players that have earned two goals on the season. In six home games this season, the Wildcats average fan attendance has been 500, which is tops in the Southland Conference.
“It feels great to be back home,” Throneberry said. “It is always nice to play on our field and have our own fans supporting us the whole game.”
Fifer still holds not only the team lead in assists with seven on the season, but she also holds the Southland Conference lead as well.
Senior goalkeeper Sydney Newton has made 55 saves on the season after stopping 14 shots against NWSU and UCA. She also holds a .859 save percentage along with a 0.86 goals against average which rank her second and first in the Southland in those categories.
The teams enter Friday tied for fourth in the conference with 3-1-1 records. ACU is 2-1 against HBU since rejoining the Southland Conference after a 3-1 victory a season ago.
For Houston Baptist, sophomore forward Gabby Rodriguez leads the team with an impressive six goals. Senior midfielder Allison Abendschein and sophomore forward Sabriah Spencer are second on the team with four.
Abendschein And senior defender Elizabeth Adams lead the team with three assists each.
Junior goalkeeper Katie Turner has received the most playing time between her and sophomore goalkeeper Alanis Guevara. Turner has made 46 saves this season and has put up a .742 save percentage with a 1.95 goals against average.
Last year the Wildcats defeated HBU with a score of 3-1. Sophomore midfielder/forward Dylan Owens and senior midfielder Danielle Otto each had goals in last year’s match.
“To prepare for Houston Baptist we are just making sure we are focusing on the little things and really making our chances on goal count.” Throneberry said.
ACU enters the match up at 4-7-2 overall and HBU is 5-6-1. This will be the only game of the weekend for the Wildcats, as they will be off until the following Friday.
