BEAUMONT, Texas - With just five regular season matches left to determine the regular season Southland Conference champion, the race could get considerably more interesting this weekend with three of the league's top four teams in the standings meeting at the LU Soccer Complex this weekend. Lamar University (8-6, 5-1 SLC) will host Abilene Christian (8-3-2, 4-1-1 SLC) on Friday and the University of the Incarnate Word (6-7, 5-1 SLC) on Sunday.

Lamar vs. Abilene Christian - Friday, October 18 at 7 p.m. - LU Soccer Complex

Perhaps it shouldn't surprise anyone that ACU comes into the weekend with one of the best records in the conference. The Wildcats were picked to win the SLC regular season title in the preseason poll after winning the tournament title in 2018, and had 11 of 22 possible first place votes. In contrast, Lamar had one first place vote and finished third in the preseason poll.

The Wildcats have been a phenomenal team at home with a 4-0-2 mark, making ACU the only team in the SLC with an undefeated record at home. They've had impressive results including a 1-1 tie against #22 Baylor in September, a 4-1 win against HBU to open the SLC season, an 8-0 shutout of Nicholls in Thibadoux, La., and a 4-1 win against Central Arkansas. The Wildcats have also shown some vulnerability this season though with a narrow 1-0 win at Southeastern Louisiana, a 1-1 tie against Northwestern State, and most recently a 2-1 loss at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

Casey Wilson is in his 13th season as head coach of the Wildcats and is the only head coach in program history. He's 141-90-21 in that time including 44-23-7 in SLC play.

ACU is second in the SLC behind Lamar in scoring average with 3.167 goals a game in SLC play. The Wildcats have been allowing just under a goal a game, giving them a 2.34 scoring margin against SLC opponents. That margin is also second in the SLC, again just barely trailing Lamar's 2.67 scoring margin.

ACU is an incredibly aggressive team with 147 shot attempts in conference play this year, the most in the league, and average 24.67 shots a game. 77 of those shots have been on-goal, more than any other team by a considerable margin. The Wildcats have limited opponents' ability to shoot on-target with just 27 shots on-goal. 22 of those have been saved, and just five have found the back of the net.

Christina Arteaga has been a prodigious shooter for ACU with 5.33 shots a game, the second-most in the SLC behind LU's Lucy Ashworth. 3.17 of those shots have been on-target, again only trailing Ashworth, and she's got five goals on the year. Samantha Vestal, Emily Heidman, and Caylen Wright all have three goals apiece, and Arteaga and Peighton Starch each have multiple assists.

Rachel Johnson has been one of the best goalies in the SLC since she joined the Wildcats five years ago. The redshirt senior from Coppell, Texas, has an .815 save percentage, the fourth-best in the SLC, and she's played 560 minutes, trailing only Kyleigh Hall at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Cailey Croson at UIW in minutes played.

Lamar vs. UIW - Sunday, October 20 at 1 p.m. - LU Soccer Complex

Unlike ACU, UIW has taken the Southland by surprise this year with an impressive 5-1 start in league play. The other Cardinals were picked 11th out of 12 SLC teams in the preseason poll and didn't have a single representative on either the First or Second All-SLC teams.

As with Lamar, UIW's lone loss in SLC play this season came against Northwestern State, a 2-1 decision at home. UIW opened the SLC season with four wins in a row, taking down A&M-Corpus Christi 1-0 at home and handing out three more shutouts at Southeastern, at Nicholls, and at home against Central Arkansas before the NSU loss snapped the streak. A 3-2 win at HBU in overtime returned UIW to its winning ways, and a Friday meeting with the 5-1 Cowgirls of McNeese in Lake Charles, La., could be the telling point of the Cardinals' season.

Emma Wright-Cates is in her second season as the head coach of the Cardinals and is a significant part of the UIW turnaround. The "other" Cards had three wins in 2018, up from two in 2017, and have six this year.

UIW is a defense first team with a physical approach. They lead the league in fouls this season with 90 and their 12 yellow cards are also the most in SLC play. UIW has allowed just .67 goals a game in conference play, the second-fewest in the league behind Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The Cardinals have scored 11 goals this year, averaging almost two goals a game, and have a scoring margin of 1.16, tied with McNeese for the fourth-best scoring margin in the league.

Despite focusing on physical play and a defense first approach, UIW isn't a slouch offensively, and that's mainly due to the play of Keeley Ayala, who has seven of the Cardinals' 10 SLC goals this year. Ayala is averaging 4.50 shots a game with 2.83 of those on goal, and she has three game-winning goals this season, tied with Esther Okoronkwo for most in the SLC. Brooke Hanson trails only Ashworth in assists this year with three.

Cailey Croson has played 550:03 in the net and has allowed just four goals this year in six league games. She's saved 22 shots and holds an .846 save percentage.

Up Next

Lamar hits the road after hosting UIW to play at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (7-5-1, 4-1-1 SLC) on Oct. 25 and at Houston Baptist (2-11, 1-5 SLC) on Oct. 27. The regular season will conclude on Nov. 1 when McNeese (9-4, 5-1 SLC) comes to town for the Battle of the Border.