LSC Women Soccer Update - Week 8

Women’s Soccer Update.

Week Eight.

National poll.

ACU moved into the national picture for the first time in LSC history, appearing at #23.  Midwestern dropped out but still received votes.  St Edwards improved to #6.

Regional poll.

1)      St Edwards

2)      ACU

3)      Central Missouri

4)      Midwestern

5)      Angelo State

6)      Truman State

7)      University of Incarnate Word

8)      A&M Commerce

9)      Nebraska-Omaha

10)   Southwest Baptist

Player of the Week.

Offensive – Ashley Brown, Angelo State.  Scored the game winner in the defeat of Midwestern, and the lone goal in the 1-3 loss to ACU.

Defensive-Natalie Crosslin, Southwest Oklahoma.  Scored in the defeat of TWU and played 110 minutes in the back in the 0-0 draw with A&M Commerce.

Goalkeeper-Elliott London. Allowed one goal in two matches over the weekend and notched one shutout.

Midwestern. A split over the weekend finds the Mustangs still in control of their destiny (and conference hosting privileges) to land at a 8-1 LSC mark.  Friday against UIW in San Antonio the first half was a scoreless affair.  A 61^st minute chip by MSU’s Maddie Fraser provided the margin in a fairly even match.  Sunday the Rambelles managed a goal with just 12 seconds left in regulation to mark the first loss of conference play for MSU.  The defeat knocked the Mustangs out of the national poll and down a couple of notches in the regional rankings.  Road matches to close out LSC play are at TWU and A&M-Commerce.

ACU.  Delivered two wins over fellow second place holders to match Midwestern at 8-1.  Friday in San Angelo against the Rambelles neither side found the net in the first period to end at 0-0.  The 60^th minute saw the ASU side score first, while the Cat’s Ashley Holton answered in the 71^st.  Andrea Carpenter hit the winner in the 87^th, with Kat Garner adding an insurance goal via a corner in the 89^th.  This week ACU closes out on the road against Commerce and TWU.  The Cats are celebrating their first-ever entry in the national rankings as they appear at #23.

UIW.  Faced the top of the conference over the weekend and dropped a pair of one goal games to stand at 6-2 in conference play.  Friday’s match vs. #18 Midwestern saw only one goal scored – unfortunately for the home team Cardinals this was in their net.  Sunday UIW saved a PK only to see ACU freshman Kristen Cavello bury a loose ball in the 76^th for the winner.  UIW hits the road against cellar dwellers NSU and ECU to finish conference play.

Angelo State.  Split results land the Rambelles at 7-2 in LSC matches.   Friday against ACU a scoreless first half was followed by an ASU goal in the 60^th for the 1-0 lead.  Three unanswered goals by the visiting Wildcats made the final 3-1 Cats.  Sunday a Senior Day win over Midwestern (much appreciated by ACU) redeemed the weekend for ASU.  The winner came with just 12 seconds left in regulation.  The Rambelles look to finish strong in Oklahoma this weekend facing ECU and NSU.

Central Oklahoma.  Tied and won for the weekend, leaving the Bronchos with a 4-4-1 record.  A goal from each team in the first half knotted the score 1-1 against Commerce Friday.  The Lions opened the second half with a goal in the 46^th minute and led until the 88^th minute when the Bronchos tied it again.  Neither side managed a goal through 2OT periods for the 2-2 draw.  Sunday the Pioneers traveled to Edmond but could not break the Bronchos, who scored in the 25^th,48^th and 81^st before TWU netted a PK for the 3-1 final.  The Bronchos remain in Edmond for the final weekend of play against WTA&M and ENMU.

WT A&M. Split the weekend matches to settle at 3-5-1.  At home against NSU the Buffs surrendered a 1^st half goal for the 0-1 first half deficit.  Lindsay McHorse tied it up for the Buffs in the 71^st and regulation ended 1-1.  With 24 ticks left in the second OT period NSU struck for the 2-1 winner.  Sunday the Buffs stampeded through the Tigers of ECU, scoring six unanswered goals. (Did the loss to NSU get their attention?)  For their final weekend of conference play the Buffs roam Oklahoma to visit UCO and SWOSU.

TWU.  Dropped a pair of matches to slide to 2-5-2 for the season.  Friday the Pioneers scored a 44^th minute goal for the 1-0 halftime advantage.  Two second half goals for the Bulldogs, in the 57^th and 89^th minutes stole the “W” from the TWU side.  Central Oklahoma scored in the 21^st minute for the 1-0 halftime lead Sunday.  Two more Broncho goals in the second half before a PK by TWU, lead to a 1-3 result.  The Pioneers remain home this weekend against (tied for first place) Midwestern and ACU.

A&M Commerce.  Settled for two draws for the weekend to arrive at 3-3-3 in LSC play.  The Lions have now tied three matches in a row.  Against UCO both teams netted a first half goal.  The Lions scored an early goal in the second half but surrendered a late goal to end regulation 2-2.  2OT periods did not result in a goal by either side, leading to the draw.  Sunday, after a two hour weather delay, neither SWOSU nor Commerce could find the net through 110 minutes of play, for a 0-0 draw.  The weekend the Lions close out at home against the conference leaders ACU and MSU.

SWOSU.  A win and a draw improved the Bulldogs to 3-5-1.  TWU scored 1^st in the match, but the feisty Bulldogs scored two second half goals – the winner coming in the 89^th minute for the 2-1 result.  Sunday against the Lions 110 minutes of play did not yield a goal, providing a 0-0 draw.  The Bulldogs stay home for the final weekend, welcoming ENMU and WT for a pair of matches.

NSU.  The Riverhawks offensive woes eased over the weekend (no goals for four matches prior) as two wins improved NSU to 2-4-3.  A first half goal in the 40^th provided a 1-0 halftime lead that WT matched in the 72^nd minute.  24 seconds before the 2^nd OT period ended  Rachel Sordahl slid home the 2-1 winner.  Another OT match on Sunday against the Zia’s provided another lift.   Eastern scored in the 34^th, NSU converted a free kick into a 57^th minute goal, and Katie Valdez ended play in the 96^th with the golden goal winner.

ECU.  Dropped two matches on the road to slide to 1-7-1.  90 minutes of scoreless soccer against the Zia’s yielded a 0-0 regulation draw before ENMU converted a corner two minutes into the 1^st OT for the 0-1 loss.  Sunday the Tigers were on the wrong end of a Buff stampede for a 0-6 disaster.  The Riverhawks stay home and try to regroup against Angelo and UIW.

ENMU.  The Zia’s took advantage of their best opportunity for a win, splitting 1-1 for the weekend.  Their first (and likely only) win of the season came against ECU at home.  90 minutes with no goals led to OT, where a corner kick resulted in the Zia’s inaugural win of the LSC season.  Another OT match on Sunday unfortunately favored NSU, ending 1-2.  The Zia’s close out the LSC campaign on the road In Oklahoma, vs. SWOSU and Central Oklahoma.

It just gets better and better.  Last week Midwestern was in the drivers seat, a 3-way tie for second existed and we had two winless teams.  Now we have a tie for first, multiple scenarios that could present, NSU and ENMU now boast conference wins.  Have there ever been this many late goals that decided games in one week?  The conference tourney could be in Wichita Falls, or maybe Abilene, or even San Angelo. Have the car gassed and ready to go?

Most like scenario?  Midwestern and ACU finish in a tie for the conference lead, with MSU hosting due to a head-to-head tiebreaker.  Both receive first round byes.  Angelo St finishes #3, UIW #4, WT #5 and Central Oklahoma #6.  Commerce and SWOSU are still possibilities but both will require help to get to the tourney.  The LSC is a great place for the engaged soccer fan.  As in recent years, multiple teams are in play for the tourney as late as week eight, and no team marches through conference play unscathed.  The conference looks strong again as ACU emerges on the national scene (losing only to MSU and #15 Florida Southern), a historically strong UIW joins the LSC, WT made it through regionals last year before falling in California, and Midwestern has been ranked for several weeks in the national poll.  All these factors aid the whole conference in recruiting.  It is just a matter of time before one of our conference members makes it to the Elite Eight and adds to the regional stature