Optimist
  • News
  • Sports
  • Opinion
    • Columns
    • Editorials
    • Letters to the Editor
  • Features
    • Book Review
  • Multimedia
    • Photo Galleries
    • Videos
  • Police Log
  • Print Edition
  • Projects
  • Classifieds
  • About
    • Advertise
    • Policies
    • Staff Contacts
    • Jobs
You are here: Home / Showcase / Wildcats’ emphatic start rattles Miners in home opening win

Wildcats’ emphatic start rattles Miners in home opening win

August 21, 2022 by Connor Mullins

Sixteen minutes is all it took for sophomore forward Chayse Thorn and the Wildcats (1-1) to open scoring in a 4-0 home opener win against the University of Texas-El Paso Miners (0-2) on a drizzly Sunday afternoon. 

Nine minutes later, Thorn found herself on a breakaway and used her speed to double her team’s lead. Five minutes after Thorn’s solo goal, the Miners dug their hole deeper with a handball in the penalty area. Senior midfielder Natalie Jones then tucked away the penalty kick to push the lead to 3-0. The emphatic start saw the Wildcats head to halftime with a comfortable 3-0 lead. 

“Well,  I was just honestly, I was always open,” Thorn said. “The first one, I was like, I’m going to just try and shoot this and try to make the most of it. And the second one, I just had all that space and no one was really pressing me. So I was like, I’m going to just take it until I have that space. So I just took the shot because I was there and that was it.”

Goals continued for ACU with junior defender Sami Brown finding her way onto the scoresheet with a solo goal in the 82nd minute. Brown’s second half goal was the first of her career. Her goal along with Thorn’s first half brace and Jones’ penalty spot goal led the Wildcats to a 4-0 win. 

“It was nice, we love playing at home,” said head coach Casey Wilson. “The weather was a little humid today, but it was great. And like I said, the team really put a few pieces of work together and really played well tonight.”  

ACU has been dominant against the Miners in recent memory, winning the last five matches dating all the way back to 2015. The 4-0 win is the largest margin of victory between the two with Sunday being the first time either team has won by more than one goal. 

“For us it just means so much,” Thorn said. “ I feel like we’ve been working really, really hard this week to try and get a win and play for our team and play for ourselves. So to get this win is just really big for us. It’s really a lift for us and it feels good.”

Redshirt-sophomore goalkeeper Lily Foster did not see action on Sunday with an apparent injury giving freshman Lili Ross the start in goal. Ross earned her first clean sheet of the season with two saves. 

Prior to Sunday’s win against UTEP, ACU found themselves in a cagey affair at the University of North Texas on Aug. 18. ACU took the lead 28 minutes in following a goal from freshman midfielder Hannah Vetromile. However, the Mean Green roared back scoring five in a 5-1 win.  

“Well, you know not that we’re off to a slow start,” Wilson said. “But again we’ve kind of got fed some lunch here in the last couple of weeks. So playing tough teams like we did really made us examine our weak spots and it was good to see them respond like they did today and that was awesome.”

Next up for Wilson and the Wildcats is a road trip to face the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (1-1) at 7 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 26.

Filed Under: Showcase, Sports Tagged With: abilene christian, abilene christian soccer, Abilene Christian University, ACU, acu soccer, ACU Wildcats, utep, utep miners, utep soccer, Wildcats

Other Showcase:

  • Gallery: Students celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month at Entra a La Plaza

  • Gallery: Football’s undefeated streak comes to an end after game against Cardinals

  • Gallery: Freshman Follies continues Family Weekend

About Connor Mullins

I'm a junior journalism major from Abilene, Texas. I'm really passionate about sports and I want to pursue a career in sports broadcast/writing.

You are here: Home / Showcase / Wildcats’ emphatic start rattles Miners in home opening win

Other Showcase:

  • Gallery: Students celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month at Entra a La Plaza

  • Gallery: Football’s undefeated streak comes to an end after game against Cardinals

  • Gallery: Freshman Follies continues Family Weekend

Follow us online

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Optimist on Twitter

Twitter feed is not available at the moment.

Optimist on Facebook

The Optimist

3 days ago

The Optimist
The student-run Hispanos Unidos club put together its annual Entra a La Plaza to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. Attendees were able to experience authentic Hispanic traditions like traditional Hispanic food, dancing with live music and offered selections from local businesses like Mary’s Paleteria. For more media coverage for this event and others visit acuoptimist.com or click the link in our bio.-------------------------------------------------------------#acu #acunews #HispanicHeritageMonth #hispanosunidos ... See MoreSee Less

Photo

View on Facebook
· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

The Optimist

1 week ago

The Optimist
As the Student Government Association celebrates its 100th year of existence, 56 officials have been elected, including four presidents for each class. Read more about the officers and representatives at acuoptimist.com or by clicking the link in our bio.-------------------------------------------------------------#acu #acunews #acusga #abilenechristianuniversity #acuofficers ... See MoreSee Less

Photo

View on Facebook
· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

Videos

Optimist Newscast Feb. 22, 2023

Our top stories this week include the passing of Dr. Bob Hunter, a new endowment ... [Read More…]

  • Optimist Newscast Feb. 8, 2023
  • Optimist Newscast Feb. 1, 2023
  • Optimist Newscast Jan. 25, 2023

Latest Photos

  • Home
  • Podcasts

© 2023 ACU Optimist · All Rights Reserved