Friday Night Southland Soccer Scoreboard
McNeese State 8, Grambling State 0
LAKE CHARLES, La.-- McNeese State's soccer team defeated Grambling 8-0, Friday night for the Cowgirls' first victory of the season. McNeese had six different players score at least one goal and freshman Johna Germany set a new single game record with four assists in the victory. Germany broke a 12 year record held by Jeanine Thibaut who held the previous record of three against Troy State.
"Tonight was a really good win for our team and I am not simply referring to the score. Our players did a really good job on the practice pitch this week and it paid off for them on game day. We knew we needed to do a better job of how we were moving the ball to allow us to get more numbers into the box to create better scoring chances. Once we got into goal scoring positions, we were focused on finishing our opportunities," said head coach Scooter Savoie.
McNeese scored early and often with the first goal coming in the 13th minute on a Rebekah DeJonghe goal off Alana Clark's assists. Audrey LaLanne then took matters into her own hands and scored the next two goals for a 3-0 Cowgirl lead. LaLanne's first goal came in the 22nd minute off a free kick. She scored her second goal of the game less than five minutes later of a deflection.
Senior Macie Jones got in on the action when her goal off a cross gave McNeese a 4-0 lead. Germany was credited with both of LaLanne's goals and Jones' goal. Germany scored her first collegiate goal in the 44th minute from about five yards out on the right side for a 5-0 McNeese lead. Freshman classmate, Callie Allbright assisted Germany for her first collegiate assists.
McNeese added three more goals in the second half with Jordan Picou scoring :15 seconds into the second half on a DeJonghe assists.
Lindsey Zwarh gave McNeese a 7-0 lead in the 51st minute and Germany broke the single game assists record with her fourth assists of the game.
"Grambling did a very good job of showing us different defensive schemes to put our player with the ball under pressure. Our players were able to recognize what Grambling was showing. We were able to move the ball quickly with limited touches to exploit the areas of available space. We had six different goal scorers tonight which demonstrates the team approach our players took to the game. Johna Germany had a great night with one goal and four assists."
Jones ended the Cowgirl scoring with an unassisted goal in the 68th minute.
McNeese (1-2-0) will host Houston at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Stephen F. Austin 2, Arkansas 1
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - For the first time in this young season, the Stephen F. Austin Ladyjack soccer team drew first blood Friday night against Arkansas. And, for the first time in program history, the Ladyjacks came away with a win against a Southeastern Conference opponent, as Stephen F. Austin got two goals from sophomore Kylie Louw in a 2-1 verdict against the Razorbacks.
In five prior contests against SEC competition - including a 3-0 defeat at Arkansas last season - Stephen F. Austin (2-1-0) had failed to register a victory and had just one goal to show for its troubles. But the Ladyjacks turned in a stellar defensive effort against the Razorbacks' quick-strike attack and made the most of their offensive chances in Friday's winning effort.
"We really wanted to improve off of Sunday's performance," head coach Tony Amato said, referencing last weekend's 3-1 loss at Rice. "We trained all week and talked about being competitive. We really worked on improving our defensive responsibilities. We put a gameplan together for Arkansas, the girls followed it, executed to a T, and the final result was a 2-1 win."
Stephen F. Austin got a gritty performance from its back line, as defenders Kelli Barnes, Edwina Forbes, Jordyn Young and Jordan King played all 90 minutes against a speedy and aggressive Arkansas attack. The quartet limited Arkansas (1-1-0) to just five first-half shot attempts, only two of which were on goal. At the other end of the field, Stephen F. Austin managed to get three shots off, including one attempt on goal by Laura Sadler, but the contest went to intermission in a scoreless tie.
"We told them that because of the way we wanted to play tonight, we would probably only have three or four chances each half," Amato said. "We talked about executing in the final third, having faith in front of the net and emphasized that we thought it would only take one or two goals because of how hard we were going to work on defense."
The first goal came in the 51st minute on Stephen F. Austin's first real scoring opportunity of the second half. Sadler worked a give-and-go with Brenda Salazar and dribbled in tight from the left side. She lined up a quick shot on the move, but it was deflected off an Arkansas defender. The ball rolled toward the right side of the box where Louw was waiting to put it into the back of an empty net.
Arkansas responded nine minutes later with an equalizer. Laurel Pastor initiated the opportunity with a long ball ahead down the left sideline for Allie Chandler. Chandler worked her way in from the wing, then sent an arcing cross over to Kelsey Allison. She settled the pass, then tucked a shot inside the far post to tie the game in the 59th minute.
The Razorbacks attempted four shots over the next 10 minutes, with one banging off the crossbar and Stephen F. Austin goalkeeper Courtney Bauder recording saves on two others.
Louw and the Ladyjacks went back on the attack in the 72nd minute, though.
She and Janae Lee worked in tandem to penetrate the Arkansas defense from the right side. Lee attempted to cross the ball to an open teammate on the left, but Razorback 'keeper Britni Williams got a hand on the pass and an Arkansas defender swooped in to clear the ball.
Stephen F. Austin locked the ball in, though, and caught the Razorbacks out of position. Lee fed the ball ahead on the right side to Louw, who split two defenders to get a one-on-one with Williams. Louw finished with a high shot inside the far post for what proved to be the game-winner.
"Kylie's a special player," Amato said. "Anytime you have someone like that, you know she can break a game wide open. She's a game-winner. You've got to have those to be successful, and that's what she was for us tonight."
The two-goal performance gives Louw a team-leading three scoring strikes on the year, putting her halfway to tying the six goals she scored all of last season. Friday's contest marks the first multi-goal game of Louw's career.
She now has two game-winning goals to her credit.
Bauder finished with three saves in 90 minutes of action to improve to 2-1-0 on the season.
"We're so proud of the girls," Amato said. "They worked super-hard all week and especially tonight. They did everything we asked of them."
The Ladyjacks will try to put a pair of wins together Sunday, when they travel to take on Oklahoma. The Sooners (1-1-0) are coming off a 1-0 win at Tulsa on Friday night. Sunday's game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start from John Crain Field in Norman, Okla.
Texas State 1, Utah Valley 0
El Paso, Texas - The Texas State women's soccer team outshot Utah Valley 24-7 in the opening game of the UTEP Miners' Classic and Britney Curry followed through on one to give the Bobcats their first victory of the season, a 1-0 decision over the Wolverines Friday night at University Field.
Goalkeepers Lauren Frazier and Hailey Brown kept their respective teams at bay with three saves apiece after the first 45 minutes of action. It wasn't until a switch in the net by UVU in the second half that Texas State was able to break through.
In the 70th minute of the game, senior Ashley Gowda played a ball through that led to a partial breakaway and Curry was waiting inside the box to tap the ball past a fresh Lauren Sack for the game-winner.
Sack suffered her second loss of the season and fell to 0-2-0, despite recording three saves. Frazier improved to 1-1-0 with the win and snagged four saves in 90 minutes.
The Bobcats return to University Field Sunday afternoon at 11:30 a.m. (CT) to face Fresno State. The Lady Bulldogs take on tournament-host UTEP tonight at 8 p.m.
Nicholls 3, Southern 1
BATON ROUGE, La. - Senior forward Kaity Mattsson scored twice and junior forward Keisha Brown added a goal of her own as the Nicholls women's soccer team (2-0-1) improved to 6-0 all-time against Southern (0-1) and stayed undefeated on the season thanks to a 3-1 win on Friday afternoon in Baton Rouge.
After scoring seven of their eight goals in the second half of Sunday's 8-0 win over Alcorn State, the Colonels were looking to get started earlier against the Lady Jaguars.
Nicholls made good two minutes in as freshman forward Alexandra Marino found Mattsson streaking toward the box. Marino's pass was on target and Mattsson notched her fifth goal of the season to make it 1-0.
Marino found Mattsson again 24 minutes later as junior midfielder Sam Etherington served a cross into Marino down the right side. The freshman forward found Mattsson who beat Southern goalkeeper Simone Bray to make it 2-0. It marked Mattsson's sixth goal in two games, her second consecutive multi-goal contest, her fifth career multi-goal game and her 27th career goal.
The Colonels continued to add on to their lead as Brown, playing her first season on the Colonels' front line picked up her first goal of the season in the 38th minute. Brown gathered a rebound of a blocked shot before finding her way through traffic for her first goal of the season to make it 3-0 heading into halftime.
However, the Jaguars proved they would not go quietly as Southern came out strong in the second half. Southern struck late in the 61st minute as Teara Richardson beat the Nicholls defense down the right side before driving home her first goal of the season. Richardson's goal snapped a streak of 295 consecutive shutout minutes delivered by the Nicholls defense dating back to the 2009 season finale against McNeese State.
Fortunately, the Colonel defense stood strong the rest of the way as the Colonels shut out the Lady Jaguars the rest of the way for the 3-1 win.
The Colonels will return to Thibodaux on Friday when Nicholls opens the home portion of their 2010 regular season schedule by hosting Jackson State on Sept. 3.
Southeastern Louisiana 1, Troy 0
TROY, Ala. - The Southeastern Louisiana women's soccer team scored a goal in the second minute and used another stellar defensive effort to defeat Troy, 1-0, in non-conference action at the Trojan Soccer Complex.
With the win, the Lady Lions are off to a 2-0 start to the season for the sixth time in school history and the first time since 2007. Troy suffered its first loss of the year, falling to 1-1 overall.
Southeastern Louisiana got the only score it would need just over a minute into the match. Pressure up top for the Lady Lions allowed sophomore Kerry McWhirter to attempt a corner kick. With sophomore Karly Dagys drawing attention, Troy defender Ceil Martinec was distracted and McWhirter's kick hit off Martinec and went into the net.
"We're very pleased to go on the road for the first time and earn a win against a very good Troy team," Southeastern head coach Blake Hornbuckle commented. "We were fortunate to use our pressure to create a set piece early in the match and Kerry hit a great ball that found its way into the net."
After the early score, Southeastern relied on its defense to hold the lead. The Lady Lions received another flawless performance from junior goalkeeper Lacey Bockhaus, who posted her second shutout of the season and finished with five saves.
The shutout was the 23rd of the San Leandro, Calif. native's career, leaving her one short of matching the school's career record of 24 shutouts held by former Lady Lion Nicole Helmig. Bockhaus needs just three more shutouts to pass former Stephen F. Austin goalie Natascia Michalezki as the league career record holder.
"Lacey was tremendous in goal today," Hornbuckle said. "She made one tough save and was really in control. Her distribution was fantastic."
Hornbuckle was again pleased with the efforts of the defensive backfield. Senior Brittany Prieto, junior Lauren Crawford and freshman Shanyce Shaw were strong for the second straight match. The Lady Lion defensive efforts were buoyed by the return of preseason All-Southland Conference performers Nicole Brannigan and Kyle MacIntosh - both who missed last Friday's 2-0 win over Mississippi Valley State.
"We felt the entire back line played well tonight and did a nice job holding space," Hornbuckle stated. "It was great to have two starters back in Nicole and Kyle. Nicole played very well and Kyle was a difference maker in the back."
Southeastern will be back in action on Sunday, facing Alabama State at 1 p.m. in Montgomery, Ala.
Louisiana Tech 2, Sam Houston State 1
Ruston, La - Louisiana Tech scored two goals in the final five minutes to hand Sam Houston State a 2-1 women's soccer loss Friday night at Lady Techster Field.
Freshman Tricia Mallory gave the Bearkats a 1-0 lead on a pass from Kayla Anderson in the 71st minute. Emily Edenstrom made a steal in midfield to set up the scoring play.
Olivia Lukasewich tied the contest at the 84:46 mark scoring from 15 feet out after a ball was deflected to her feet. Rachel King added the game winner four minutes later on a cross from Rebecca Spencer.
The loss drops Sam Houston State to 0-3 for the season. Louisiana Tech now stands 2-1.
Louisiana Tech fired 18 shots at the Bearkat goal. Jenny Pence save eight of the attempts.
Sam Houston State continues its road swing with a 1 p.m. contest at TCU on Saturday.
Texas 3, UTSA 1
AUSTIN, Texas - Freshman Maria Jose Rojas scored her first goal of the season, but it was not enough, as Texas held off UTSA, 3-1, on Friday evening at Mike A. Myers Stadium.
The Longhorns (2-0) built a 2-0 lead through the first 26 minutes. Leah Fortune's header off a Kylie Doniak free kick broke the scoreless tie at the 16:49 mark. Kirsten Birkhold then connected from about 30 yards out nine minutes later and the two-goal lead would hold through the first half.
The Roadrunners (2-1) pulled to within 2-1 when Rojas beat the keeper one-on-one with a blast into the upper left side of the net in the 57th minute.
Texas answered on a Hannah Higgins winner from the edge of the 18-yard box with just under 20 minutes to play to make it 3-1.
The Longhorns fired 26 shots, including 14 on goal, compared to just two by the Roadrunners. UTSA's goalkeeper tandem of sophomore Dacia Webb (six) and freshman Danielle Snyder (four) combined to make 10 saves against the attack.
The Roadrunners host Houston Baptist in their home opener at 1 p.m. Sunday at the UTSA Recreational Sports Complex.
Texas Tech 4, Northwestern State 0
NATCHITOCHES, La. - Three late second half goals by Texas Tech in an eight-minute span helped the Red Raiders hold off a young, scrappy Northwestern State squad Friday night in front of 527 fans in the home women's soccer opener for the Lady Demons at the NSU Soccer Complex.
The loss dropped the Lady Demons to 0-3 on the season while Texas Tech remained perfect at 3-0 with all three wins coming by way of shutouts. Northwestern State will continue its 7-game homestand with a 2 o'clock match against Southern on Sunday.
Trailing 1-0 at the break, the Lady Demons had two golden opportunities for goals in the first half, one that would've put them up 1-0. On the chance, Northwestern's Sarah Sadler dribbled the ball into the box then crossed it to Ashlee Savona who was open in front of the net, but she couldn't control the pass and Texas Tech cleared the ball out.
"I was happy with the way we played in the first half," said Northwestern head coach Jimmy Mitchell. "Considering the way we played last week, we've made a lot of improvements.
"We started six freshmen tonight, so we were really nervous about that coming into the game. Three of them played in the back (defense) and then the goalkeeper and I thought they did a really nice job. We gave up a lot of shots but we did have a chance there in the first half to take the lead, and who knows, if we finish that shot, it could be a completely different game."
Texas Tech outshot the Lady Demons by a 24-2 margin with an 8-1 advantage in shots on goal. Northwestern freshman goalkeeper Jessica Danku played the entire 90 minutes in the net, her second straight complete game.
Northwestern kept the game tight in the second half until TTU's Sarah Ellison netted a goal in the 77th minute to make it 2-0. Just three minutes later, Dawn Ward scored the first of her two goals after she took a pass from Jessica Disabella, dribbled to the right side of the box and sank the ball in the right corner to make it 3-0.
Ward closed out the scoring five minutes later with a shot from the right side from 20 feet out to give the Red Raiders a 4-0 lead.
"I told the team at the half that in the last 10 minutes of the first half we played like we were in survival mode," said Mitchell. "I told them that we wouldn't play like that to start the second half and we came out and played really hard until they scored the second goal with 12-and-a-half minutes left. That one kinda broke out hearts a little bit.
"But I'm really proud with how we played. From last weekend to this weekend, we made a lot of improvements."