SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- NCAA I Abilene Christian (Texas) rolled into Alumni Field today and handed the Golden Eagles a swift 5-0 defeat on the heels of three first-half goals as sophomore goalkeeper Kristen Morency made 11 saves in the losing effort.
Fresh off a 4-0 clean-sheet victory of its own, John Brown (1-2-0) hosted the visiting Wildcats (3-0-1) on Friday (Aug. 7) afternoon. Despite finding themselves out-shot 23-6, JBU did its best to fend off Abilene Christian.
The Wildcats had previously beaten the NAIA's No. 8 and No. 9 teams in Oklahoma City and Texas at Brownsville, respectively, carrying with them a great deal of experience early in the season against the Golden Eagles.
ACU posted first-half goals in the seventh, 15th and 34th minutes, forcing Morency to turn aside three additional shots in the first 45 minutes.
John Brown turned in a more assertive second half as senior midfielder Whitney Brannan landed a pair of shots on net. Junior forward Karen Sosa also contributed a shot on goal.
Goals in the 57th and 85th minute padded the visitors' lead to 5-0 as the Golden Eagles were unable to mount a response to the relentless Wildcat attack.
Abilene Christian netminders Kelsey Dombrowski and Sydney Newton combined for the complete-game shutout. Newton managed three saves in the second half against the Golden Eagles.
The Golden Eagles will now take a week off until it hosts Bellevue (Neb.) next Friday (Sept. 13) at Alumni Field. The match is set for 2:00 p.m. and marks day one of the Golden Eagle Invitational.
