The Wildcats were home this weekend where they hosted Utah Valley and Seattle U, resulting in two losses for ACU.
Friday, the Wildcats took on Utah Valley, where it resulted in a loss, 1-4. Head coach Casey Wilson said he thought his team played well despite the losses.
“Those teams were not top of the standings but we had every opportunity to score goals,” Wilson said. “With the elements on Sunday, I thought we did all we could.”
The Wolverines started off the match strong with securing their first goal in the ninth minute of the game. Then 15 minutes later, Hannah Lee of Utah Valley came back down the field and attacked the Wildcat defense, striking the ball in the back of the net. The Wolverines led at the start of the first half, 2-0.
Coming out of the half, the Wildcats knew they had to stop Utah Valley’s offense. Two minutes into the second half, Caylen Wright, senior forward from Joshua, took the ball down field, setting herself up for a straight away goal, putting ACU on the board.
“Our offense has been giving themselves plenty of opportunities,” Wilson said. “If you look at the box scores, we are there, we’re getting shots, getting opportunities, just getting a little unlucky.”
Yet four minutes later, Heather Stainbrook of Utah Valley, put another goal on the board, making a larger deficit for the Wildcats. Fifteen minutes after that, Stainbrook came back again, scoring her second goal of the game to bring the final score to a 4-1 ACU loss.
The Wildcats fell to Utah Valley in shot attempts, 21-12 and shots on frame, 9-5. Natalie Jones, senior midfielder from Lubbock, tallied three shot attempts, while Chayse Thorn, sophomore forward from Rowlett, and Jazzy Torres, junior midfielder from Austin, each tallied two shot attempts.
With Wright scoring her fourth goal of the season, she has recorded 19 career goals, putting her in fifth in ACU soccer history.
Sunday, ACU hosted Seattle U for their annual pink out game, where they fell 2-0.
“Overall, even going back into last weekend,” Wilson said. “Our defense has been playing well. It’s just a matter of putting pressure on the other team and scoring first.”
The game started off slow and took a moment for both teams to get into it to start attacking. In the 28th minute, Seattle U started moving downfield toward the Wildcat’s defense where Kaylee Coatney was able to score to put the Redhawks up, 1-0.
The game stayed at a constant back and forth between the two teams until there was ten minutes left in the match. Kacey LaBoda of Seattle U was given a penalty kick where she was able to gain the goal, marking their second and final goal of the night.
This matchup was a close one for both teams with the Redhawks tallying 15 shots with six on goal and the Wildcats recording 10 with three on goal. Both teams played aggressive, marking 11 fouls for both teams.
“I thought our defense has been playing well,” Wilson said. “On Sunday, they didn’t get scored on a real play, just a corner kick and a penalty kick is how they scored.”
The Wildcats hit the road again to Edinburg to take on the University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley Thursday at 6:30 p.m. Then ACU comes back home to host Stephen F. Austin Saturday at 1 p.m. at Elmer Gray Stadium. Both games will be streamed live on ESPN+.
