ACU hosted Lamar Friday night for the opening game of the Western Athletic Conference play, ending in a double-overtime tie, 0-0.
ACU and Lamar had a competitive night, where the possession of the ball went back and forth in regulation time. The Cardinals led the Wildcats in shot attempts, 16-9, but the Wildcats fought until the very end.
Once overtime came, the Wildcats held the ball for more opportunities to score but could not sink it in the net. ACU felt their momentum change going into overtime, where they had possession of the ball for the majority of the time.
“It was a tough battle,” head coach Casey Wilson said. “We had to match up with them the entire game, but in the end, we felt like we had our opportunities; it’s just a matter of putting it away.”
Lily Foster, a sophomore goalkeeper from Coeur d Alene, Idaho, made a total of six saves throughout the night. Foster felt like she was strongly backed up by their defense, especially in a close matchup like Lamar.
“The defense went really well,” Foster said. “It was interesting because we played in a different formation that we had not done before. We weren’t sure if they were going to match us, but they ended up playing in a formation that we practiced the day before, so our defense knew when to drop.”
The Wildcats then hosted the University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley Sunday afternoon, where they went into another overtime match but pulled through in overtime to gain the win, 3-2.
The game went back and forth on who was on top. This was a high shot attempt game with ACU leading UTRGV in shots, 22-20. Yet, UTRGV led ACU in shots on goal, 10-9, but Foster was able to hold them back.
Going into halftime, the score was 1-1. Then not too long after the second period started, UTRGV scored to take the lead, 2-1. Deep into the second period, the Wildcats pulled a goal tying the game up, 2-2.
Head coach Casey Wilson said that these games have caused them to have a different game plan.
“Our game plan today was to give it to our outside players,” Wilson said. “Which we did throughout the entire game. It was all about capitalizing our opportunities.”
With only one overtime period, Emily Heidman, a redshirt senior defender from Rowlett, got the cross ball in the box and knocked it in for the game-winning goal.
“At first, the game went a little slow,” Heidman said. “We were feeling the two overtimes from the game before, but as the game went on, we really came together as a team.”
The Wildcats stay home for their last weekend series against Chicago State Saturday at 11 a.m. in Elmer Gray Stadium streaming on WAC Digital Network.
