The Wildcat soccer team drove seven hours for its first conference matchup of the year against Little Rock. The long road trip is indicative of the offseason and nonconference season the team has had so far.

Head coach Stephen Salas is leaning on his defense to anchor the team as it makes a run at the United Athletic Conference championship.

“The cliche of defense wins championships. I think that’s our strong suit right now. Obviously, we’ve had five shutouts. Our back line is playing really well, and then players are stepping up,” Salas said.

ACU has faced some of the best talent in the region and at the national level during its nonconference schedule. A scrimmage draw with Texas State and a draw with the University of Houston mark the team’s biggest defensive results of the first stretch of the season. Even with injuries, the team continues to move forward without an obvious limp.

“We had a player get hurt in our back line, and the next one stepped up, which is Audrey Coppinger. We call her ‘Copy,’ and she’s got two defensive player of the week awards,” Salas said.

The back line is contributing to the strong start alongside an all-world performance from Bella Medrano, sophomore goalkeeper from Lubbock.

Medrano enters conference play with a .915 save percentage, the sixth-best mark in NCAA Division I women’s soccer, and has played more minutes than anyone else in the national top 10. Her 43 saves rank fourth in the nation.

“I really do think Bella is the best in the nation. She’s sixth right now in save percentage and leads the nation in a lot of other things, shutouts included,” Salas said.

The Wildcats will play Little Rock at 6 p.m. Thursday before heading to rival Tarleton State for a 1 p.m. Sunday matchup. Salas said the team is focused on taking the conference schedule one game at a time.

“We know it’s week by week, but going into conference, we’ve gotta take it one game at a time. This is where we show up, and this is what we play for,” he said.

Salas is confident in his squad’s ability to contend for a conference title.

“We’re really building in the right direction. It’ll be a fun run,” he said.