The ACU women’s soccer team had its first draw, 1-1, in Southland Conference play on Friday against Northwestern State Lady Demons.

The first goal of the night came from junior captain Christina Arteaga in the ninth minute. Senior Shay Johnson was able to head the ball out of a group and freshman Caylen Wright passed it to Arteaga. Arteaga nailed it into the left side of the net, right over the goalkeeper’s hand for the goal. However, the keeper attempted to come out and get the ball, but Arteaga used it against the NSU’s keeper for her sixth goal of the season.

The Wildcats scored early in Friday’s match, however, it was not enough as the game concluded with a 1-1 draw. 

An own goal was scored against the Wildcats towards the end of the first half. In the 42nd minute, ACU’s defense tried to pass the ball around to set something up, instead of rolling the ball to redshirt senior goalkeeper Rachel Johnson, as they normally do. The ball ended up being a very difficult ball to get and turned into a Northwestern State goal.

Neither team scored in the second half or the two extended over time periods. ACU and NSU tied in shot attempts, but the Wildcats led 13-3 shots on frame. 

NSU’s goalkeeper Kayla Bomben had a total of 12 saves against ACU. Johnson had a total of three saves.

Arteaga had seven shot attempts. Johnson and redshirt sophomore Emily Heidman, sophomore Alyssia Anuat and freshman Natalie Jones each had two. 

ACU has a 6-1-1 all-time record with NSU, with the Wildcats winning the last two matches, prior to Friday night. NSU now holds a 2-1-1 Southland Conference record. 

Head Coach Casey Wilson shared his thoughts on Friday’s match and what the team can improve on for their upcoming game on Sunday.

“We had all the opportunities we could to score tonight, and you can’t take that away from us so I give that goalkeeper a lot of credit,” Wilson said. “We are going to rest and regroup and make sure we are ready to go Sunday.”