STEPHENVILLE – For the first time in program history, the Tarleton State Texans soccer team is headed to the WAC Tournament. The fifth-seeded Texans will take on the fourth-seeded California Baptist Lancers at 4 p.m. on Sunday at Elmer Gray Stadium in Abilene, Texas.
The game will be streamed on ESPN+. Live stats will be provided by StatBroadcast available on tarletonsports.com. Follow @tarletonsoccer on Instagram, X and Facebook for live updates, highlights and content. Tickets will need to be purchased online through the WAC website.
The Texans earned a program-record four All-WAC selections. Mikayla Kendall and Kaitlyn Flanagan each earned a spot on the All-WAC Second Team. Adelaide Wyrzynski and Kimberley Hjalmarsdottir were named to the All-WAC Freshman Team. Kendall and Flanagan are the first Texans selected to either the All-WAC First or Second teams. Wyrzynski and Hjalmarsdottir join 2022 Texan freshman Mila Bettinelli as the only members of the Purple and White to be named to the All-WAC Freshman Team.
Tarleton posted new program records with nine total wins and three conference victories. The Texans .553 winning percentage this season ranks tenth highest in the third season by the 48 new programs since 2000. The Purple and White rank in the top 15 in total wins by new programs in their first three seasons with 19.
Tarleton finished the regular season with a pair of wins closing the season on Sunday with a 2-0 win over ACU. Kendall notched her 8th total shutout and 6th solo on the season. Stevie Reynolds notched a two-goal effort, the second Texan to do so with both goals in the first half.
Goalkeeper Kendall has totaled 100 saves, the most in the conference and ranks 14th in the NCAA. She ranks 13th in the nation and second in the WAC with an .870 save percentage. The Orange, Calif. native, is second among WAC goalies with 1550 minutes played (52nd in the nation) and six shutouts. She also has two combined shutouts with fellow keeper Rylie Bloomfield. Her 0.870 GAA is fourth in the league. The junior is ranked seventh among active D1 goalies with 5.48 career saves per game. She is also 20th with 285 total saves.
In the third year of the program, many records are beginning to be broken in 2024. Reynolds is the new single season shot record holder with 33 this season. She broke Avery Harr’s record of 28 from last season. Reynolds is tied with Harr for most shots on goal in a season. She has matched Harr’s 20 from last season. In her third season with the Texans junior Jaycie Bass is the new assists career record holder in program history. She has notched four this season totaling eight during her three years with the Texans surpassing Kiki Baurmann’s mark of seven in her lone season in 2022. Jenaya Brown’s 46 shots is the second most in a Texan career. She trails Harr’s 49 set in her first two seasons with the program. Nicole Fels is third in program history with 43.
Sunday will mark the second meeting this season between the Texans and the Lancers this season. Earlier in October, the Texans notched a 2-1 victory in Riverside snapping CBU’s regular season WAC winning streak. The Purple and White will look to even the all-time series with CBU, who holds a 2-1 advantage.
Head coach Pete Cuadrado is in his 21st season as a collegiate head coach with Tarleton his third stop on his journey. He started his career at North Dakota State before spending time at Wyoming. During his career, he has amassed 187 wins, with 17 of those coming in the first three seasons of the Tarleton program.
With a win on Sunday in the WAC Quarterfinals, the Texans will advance to the semifinals to take on top-seeded Utah Valley. The semifinals will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 6 at 4 p.m. should the Texans advance.
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