Contributed by: Rachel Poe

The ACU soccer team fought hard this weekend against the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles and Oklahoma State’s Cowgirls, but came up short in both games, 4-1 and 3-0 respectively.

On Friday, ACU fell to the Eagles, 4-1. ORU scored four goals in the first half of the match and ACU was never able to recover, although it would score a late goal in the second half.

The Wildcats were able to shutout the Golden Eagles through the second 45 minutes and Sophomore Shay Johnson converted her second goal of the season off a corner kick from Junior Dylan Owens.

Head Coach Casey Wilson said Johnson has been a versatile player for the team in her two years as a Wildcat.

“We move Shay around in the back line and the midfield, but we know she’s tough coming in on corner kicks, that was one of her specialties in high school,” Wilson said.

On Sunday, the Wildcats took on a challenging Oklahoma State team, ranked No. 18 in the nation and lost 3-0.

ACU had plenty of chances to get on the board, but was shutout by the national powerhouse. Owens fired a shot, in the fifth minute, but the OSU keeper managed to narrowly save the ball from going in the back of the net. The Wildcats last opportunity came from a corner kick by freshman Christina Arteaga, who crossed the ball to fellow freshman Gabby Symmank, but she could not connect on the header, late in the second half.   

The Wildcats wrap up the preseason portion of their schedule at 2-5, having played elite teams from the SEC, Big-12 and Conference USA.

“Playing a preseason schedule like we did it identifies a lot of weaknesses and some things we need to work on, so ultimately it was all for the best,” Wilson said.

ACU will return to Elmer Gray on Friday at 5 p.m,, when it hosts Houston Baptist in the Southland Conference opener. The game will be begin a busy weekend of the Wildcat fans as it is the first of three home events, including the grand opening of Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium.