PORTALES, N.M. — The Eastern New Mexico women's soccer team will kick off the 2019 season with two games on Thursday and Sunday afternoon.
Head coach Josh Smith's team will take the field for the first time in 2019 on the road in Ada, Okla. against Great American Conference foe East Central. The Greyhounds will then return home on Sunday for their home opener against Abilene Christian in exhibition action, with kickoff scheduled for 11 a.m. inside Greyhound Stadium.
LAST SEASON
Under first year Head Coach
Joshua Smith, the Greyhounds advanced to their first ever Lone Star Conference Tournament Championship game. The Hounds defeated Texas A&M-Commerce 2-0 in the LSC Quarterfinal to achieve the program's second ever LSC Tournament victory. In the semifinal round against top-seeded and No. 19 ranked West Texas A&M, the Hounds pulled off one of the biggest upsets in ENMU history. In the 93rd minute of overtime,
Julia Tucker received a cross from the right side by
Anahi Hernandez and her shot from the middle of the box found the back of the net for the golden goal, giving Eastern the 1-0 victory to advance to the LSC Championship game.
The Hounds finished the 2018 campaign with a 9-9-2 overall record and a 5-6-1 mark in conference play. The nine wins tied the second-most overall victories in a season in program history while the five LSC victories set the second-most conference wins, the most since the Hounds picked up six during the 2014 campaign.
Eastern put together one of the finest defensive seasons in program history, setting a program record for the fewest shots allowed per game (11.4) while also recording eight shutouts, tying the 2009 season for the best mark in Greyhounds history.
2019 PRESEASON STORY LINES
The Greyhounds return several key pieces from last season's squad, including All-LSC First Team midfielder
Samantha Fabela, All-LSC Second Team defender
Hayden Zuniga as well as her twin sister, Keyara, who was the team's top goal scorer a year ago with five and
Julia Tucker, an All-LSC
Tournament Team performer last season.
Despite the Hounds bringing back several of their top contributors from a season ago, ENMU has 19 new players that have joined the 2019 squad, including seven transfers and 12 high school signees.
Eastern is a part of a new-look LSC that has doubled in size from a year ago, expanding from seven teams to 14 teams with the top seven teams receiving bids to the conference tournament in November.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
The Tigers were winless in the month of October last season, going 0-8 in the final month of the 2018 campaign.
The Tigers are led by Head Coach Riley Bailey, who is entering his 11th season at the helm of the ECU women's soccer program. During Bailey's tenure, the Tigers put together the winningest season in program history in 2011 after going 12-6-1 and 5-1 in East Central's first season in the Great American Conference.
The Tigers frontline attack will be led by senior forward Morgan Medina and Alexis Castillo. Medina scored a team-best four goals and tied for the team-lead with eight points with Castillo, who wrapped up her 2018 campaign with three goals and a team-high two assists.
Junior keeper Mollie Nance will look to move into the full-time goalkeeper role for the 2019 season. Last year, Nance appeared in 10 matches and made seven starts, allowing a team-low 1.83 goals allowed average to go with 48 saves on a .774 save percentage.
HISTORY WITH THE TIGERS
East Central leads the all-time series 5-2-1 dating back to 2003 as the Tigers have won the last four consecutive matches against the two squads.
East Central upset the Hounds in last season's match-up in Portales, handing Eastern its first loss of the 2018 season. Despite suffering the loss, ENMU controlled the offensive pace of the contest, out-shooting the Tigers 15-7.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
The Wildcats enter the 2019 campaign as the reigning Southland Conference Tournament Champions after upsetting top-seeded Central Arkansas 1-0 in the semifinal round and defeating Stephen F. Austin 3-1 in the championship match. ACU's season came to a close in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, falling to Baylor 2-0.
Head Coach Casey Wilson is entering his 13th season as the leader of the Abilene Christian women's soccer team. Under Wilson, the Wildcats have went 133-87-19, which includes a Lone Star Conference Championship in 2011 after going 20-2-1 and 13-0-1 in LSC play. The Wildcats advanced all the way to the NCAA Division II National Quarterfinals that season before falling 1-0 to Chico State. Wilson has overseen the transition from Division II to Division I and has put together a highly competitive team in the Southland Conference, amassing a 40-21-6 record in six seasons in the league.
Abilene Christian brings back a highly talented roster from a season ago, including the squad's leading goal scorer Christina Arteaga. The sophomore forward netted 10 goals and notched 24 points to earn All-Southland First Team honors. The Wildcats also return a pair of All-Southland First Team recipients in midfielder Shay Johnson and defender Michelle Mulrooney.
The Wildcats also return All-Southland Second Team goalkeeper Rachel Johnson. The redshirt senior last season started in 16 matches and made 88 saves on a .907 save percentage while allowing just 0.53 goals per match.
HISTORY WITH THE WILDCATS
The Wildcats hold a 6-1-0 record in the seven-game series between the two teams with the Greyhound's lone victory coming in the way of a 5-4 home victory in 2007.
Eastern hasn't faced ACU since 2012 when they handed ENMU a 3-0 defeat.
