Abilene, TX - Sixth-ranked Hardin-Simmons stepped out of conference play and blanked Division II crosstown foe Abilene Christian, 2-0, Tuesday afternoon at the HSU Soccer Complex.

The Cowgirls got on the board in the 31st minute, when freshman Julie Woolverton sailed a shot over ACU goalkeeper Allison Egan's head from the top of the box on a nice assist from senior Beth Craig.

ACU had a couple of chances early to get on the scoreboard, but All-American goalkeeper Christi Carr was up to the task with some nice saves. She also gave the Cowgirls' field position all day with punts deep into the ACU end of the field.

The Cowgirls iced the match in the 76th minute on a penalty kick by Morgan Loyd. Carlyn Powers did a nice job of holding the ball in the box, before she was finally fouled by an ACU player.

ACU had another couple of chances late, but Carr made a highlight reel punch save and two more to keep the Wildcats off the board. Carr had eight saves in the match as ACU outshot the Cowgirls 15-11 and 8-7 on goal. HSU had the advantage on corner kicks 7-2.

"Our girls battled the whole way. We played a lot better in the second half," said HSU head coach Marcus Wood. "They have a lot of good athletes over there and it was a good contest for us as we get ready for the conference tournament."

The Cowgirls moved to 14-1 with their 12th straight win. Abilene Christian fell to 7-9 in its first year of action. HSU will try to make it an Abilene sweep when it hosts McMurry on Saturday at 1 p.m. for senior day.

Chad Grubbs