ADA – The East Central University soccer team is ramping up for its final three matches of the regular season, all at Tiger Field. The Tigers will first host Ouachita Baptist, Thursday, Oct. 26 at 2 p.m. for the annual Pink Out match. ECU then welcomes Harding, Saturday, Oct. 28 at 11 a.m. for Senior Day and part of the 2017 Homecoming.
The final match of the regular-season will be a make-up match with Southern Nazarene, Monday, Oct. 30 at 11 a.m., if it will be necessary to determine the standings for the Great American Conference Championship.
The Tigers are 5-6-4 overall and 2-3-4 in the GAC, ranking them fifth in the standings, just two points behind Northwestern in fourth and one point ahead of Ouachita in sixth. The top four teams advance to the championship tournament.
ECU tied league-leading Oklahoma Baptist and lost to Southern Nazarene last week. In the last four matches sophomore
Lizette Carreon has scored three goals, with two coming off penalty kicks. Junior
Chloe Hull earned her fourth shutout of the season against OBU and recorded 22 saves over the weekend.
Ouachita is 3-11-1 overall and 3-7 in the GAC after losing its last five matches. The other Tigers from the league have allowed 2.20 goals per match and have tallied just 0.93 of their own. Bryson Thomas is the key player to look out for, as she leads the team with five goals and 14 shots on goal.
Earlier this season ECU earned a 1-0 victory at Ouachita Baptist and broke a five-match losing streak to Ouachita. ECU trails 8-10 in the all-time series and 5-8 when playing as GAC opponents, however they lead 5-2 when playing at home.
The Bisons are 5-8-3 overall and 4-5-1 in the GAC after splitting their matches last weekend. Harding is averaging 1.25 goals per match and allowing a 1.81 mark by the opposition. Bethany Sutherland is the key offensive player for the Bisons with 13 goals and 28 shots on goal.
In the first meeting on the road this season, the Tigers and Harding battled to a 1-1 double-overtime tie. Sophomore
Alexis Castillo scored the match-tying goal for ECU. The tie moved the all-time series to 9-7-1 in favor of ECU, including a 6-7-1 mark in GAC action and a 5-3 mark when playing at home.
SNU is 4-11 overall and 2-7 in the conference after defeating ECU last weekend. The Crimson Storm are averaging 1.20 goals per match and allowing a 2.60 mark. Meagan Chase and Hannah Robinson lead the team with four goals each, while Chase adds two assists and a team-leading 29 shots on goal.
The Tigers trail SNU 4-11-1 in the all-time series, including a 3-8 mark in the GAC and 3-4 when at Tiger Field.
