The Wildcats played their first ever Div. I NCAA tournament game Saturday evening and lost to Baylor 2-0 in Waco.

This concluded the 2018 season for the team. ACU’s final record for the year was 15-6-1 and 7-3-1 in conference.

Junior midfielder Shay Johnson said she was grateful to be apart of such a historic season.

“I am so proud of this team, and this was a groundbreaking season for sure,” Johnson said. “It just makes me really happy to be able to be apart of something this special. We started off in a rough patch, but we persevered through and consistently got better through out the season.”

Baylor took 22 shots in the game, 13 on net, and the Wildcats allowed a goal in each half.

Senior defender Sarah King scored the first goal for the Bears 14 minutes through the first half. She was assisted by freshman midfielder Giulianna Cunningham and senior midfielder Julie James.

In the second half, junior forward Camryn Wendlandt scored on a header after a corner kick by sophomore midfielder Ally Henderson at the 46:55 mark of the game.

Johnson and sophomore midfielder Christina Arteaga took the two shots on goal in the game for the Wildcats

Red shirt junior goalkeeper Rachel Johnson made 11 saves in the game with five coming in the first half and six in the second.

Johnson said experiencing an NCAA tournament game was the highlight of her career.

“The NCAA was surreal,” Johnson said. “Just having the opportunity to be able to play in a game in that atmosphere was one I’ll never forget- the biggest of my soccer career by far. It’s something for all of us to be proud of despite the loss. Baylor is a well-respected team, and I hope they do well in the rest of the tournament, but I walked away with not an ounce of sorrow.”