Zias stun first-place Wildcats

Freedom New Mexico

Freshman midfielder Jordan Sjue of Roswell scored her first goal of the season with just over 18 minutes left in the first half and Eastern New Mexico Univesity made it stand up for a 1-0 victory over Lone Star Conference women’s soccer leader Abilene Christian on Friday at the ENMU pitch.

Sjue scored on a through pass from freshman forward Brook Serrano with 26:51 gone in the half, beating Wildcats goalkeeper Crissy Lawson. Abilene Christian (10-5-1, 5-2-1 LSC) outshot the Zias 20-8 for the match, including 8-3 on goal, but could not break through.

Sophomore goalkeeper Sierra Cardenas made eight saves en route to her fifth shutout of the season and seventh of her ENMU career. She broke the school single-season shutout record she had shared with Stephanie Sanchez and tied the career mark belonging to Sanchez.

The Zias, who beat then-No. 6 West Texas A&M 1-0 last month at home, improved to 5-2 in their bailiwick this season and are now 33-14-2 since moving into the current soccer facility in 2004.

ENMU is back in action on Sunday when it hosts Angelo State and former Zias coach Travis McCorkle in a noon start.