SOCCER: Aug. 25 Scoreboard
McNeese State 5, Prairie View A&M 0
Northwestern State 1, LSU 1 (2OT)
McNeese State 5, Prairie View A&M 0
LAKE CHARLES, La. – As the McNeese State women’s soccer team walked off the field Tuesday night having defeated Prairie View A&M, 5-0, in its home opening match, the Cowgirls were elated to have accomplished their biggest goal of the evening… Play For Krista.
Krista Steinbeiser, a former McNeese soccer player was injured in an automobile accident Monday evening in Lake Charles. Steinbeiser was taken to a local hospital and is currently recovering from two broken vertebrae in her neck. She received visits from members of the Cowgirl squad throughout the day as well as head coach Scooter Savoie who found Steinbeiser in good spirits.
“I spoke with Krista this morning about her condition and the journey she is about to go through,” said Savoie. “I want people to be know something that I know our players are aware of. Krista was the happiest person this morning and full of positive energy. She’s accepting what happened and is thankful to have come away from that. This victory tonight was for her.”
That positive momentum that radiated from Steinbeiser’s smile and positivity radiated onto the pitch as the Cowgirls (2-0) fully dominated play from the beginning to the end of the match.
McNeese was explosive right out of the gate and wasted no time creating opportunities as freshman sensation Nola Pricket scored her first career collegiate goal in the 11th minute of the match after heading in a cross shot from the corner to help the Cowgirls go up 1-0 early. Junior Kelley Clancey’s was credited with the assist on the play.
“I thought that the Nola Prickett goal was awesome and was a great strong service that turned out to be a first class goal,” said Savoie. “I thought she played well all night and was able to break the ice tonight.”
From that point on, McNeese was at full throttle as sophomore Gabi D’Alesandro netted the second goal of the match on a shot from the left side of the box in the 19th minute to extend the lead to two goals over Prairie View (0-1). Before fans could reset and take in what was happening, junior Bettina Brulhart scored her second goal of the season on a cross from the left side of the field to put the Cowgirls up 3-0 at the half.
“It was a real good victory for us tonight,” said Savoie. “We try to play off of what their tendencies were last year and they presented a totally different plan this season. I thought our players did a great job of adjusting and finding the space that was given to them.”
The McNeese defensive unit provided solid protection throughout the match and limited the Panthers to just eight shots and one corner kick. Senior goalkeepers Lauren Sestak and Maggie Marks each recorded valuable minutes in the net while Sestak made one save.
Junior Hannah Sutherland provided the Cowgirls’ fourth goal of the match in the 80th minute with one of the most beautiful shots taken on the McNeese home field. Sutherland launched a rocket from 30 yards out that found the net just above the keepers head.
Another Cowgirl newcomer recorded her first career goal as a collegiate student-athlete in the last 10 seconds of the match. With the help from sophomore Sierra Sisco and a slight misstep from the opposing goalie, freshman Dayna Garcia snuck in the fifth and final goal of the match to help lead McNeese to the victory.
The Cowgirls are competing with history as they start the season out 2-0 for the first time since the 2006 season. McNeese captured the program’s only SLC Tournament championship that season and competed in its only NCAA Tournament game.
“The most important thing about this win today is that there was 100 percent effort from start to finish,” said Savoie. “Regardless of the situation in the game, we find a way to win. Not only do they play when the ball is on the ground but we compete. That is something that I feel we are going to lean on this season.”
McNeese dominated the match in every category including a 21-8 advantage in shots as well as a 5-1 edge in corner kicks. Prickett and Brulhart each led the team with six shots apiece.
Prickett and freshman Morgan Middleton were also given assists on the scoring plays in the game.
The Cowgirls will hit the road for a two-game stint that begins at Texas State on Friday, Aug. 28 and will conclude with a contest against Tulsa on Sunday, Aug. 30 before returning home to face rival UL-Lafayette on September 4.
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Northwestern State 1, LSU 1 (2OT)
BATON ROUGE, La. – The Northwestern State soccer team logged its first non-losing result against a Power Five conference member in program history Tuesday as the Lady Demons tied LSU 1-1.
With time winding down and the Lady Demons trailing 1-0, freshman Kayleigh Phillips scored an 83
rd-minute goal on an assist from senior Cassandra Briscoe to knot the score at 1, which couldn’t be broken in two 10-minute overtime periods with LSU (1-0-1).
Head coach George Van Linder said a scrappy defense allowed NSU (1-1-1) to hang around, creating one of the most momentous occurrences in NSU history.
“For us, we’ve talked about playing hard for 90 minutes and playing with confidence, and we did that tonight,” Van Linder said. “LSU gave us everything they had, and every second of this match was crazy.
“It was a heckuva game for the fans between two teams that were evenly matched. We’ve talked about being like the teams of the past, and we’re one step closer.”
Phillips fired a shot to the top inside corner from 10 yards out for NSU’s goal. In her first three matches, Phillips has two goals and an assist in scoring a team-high five points this season.
“She has a lot of confidence, and late in the game, we decided to go for it and see if we could get the equalizer,” Van Linder said. “She was itching to go in, and she went in and made great runs.
“You could feel that goal was coming. It’s so great to have her. We always talked about her as a natural goal scorer, and we didn’t know how she’d make the transition to college soccer, but she’s making it pretty well right now.”
The defense largely withstood a barrage of shots in regulation and overtime, absorbing 19 of LSU’s 20 attempts (seven on goal).
Six LSU shots were attempted in overtime, but NSU wasn’t content to play for a tie and took three of their nine shots after regulation.
NSU goalkeepers Brooke Bourbonais and Alex Latham played a large role in holding LSU to one goal, which came in the 52
nd minute when LSU’s Alex Thomas ran to the right side of the box and smacked one inside the far post.
Bourbonais supplied a scoreless first half with three saves on eight shot attempts, including a save on a penalty kick by Jorian Baucom late in the half.
Latham entered in the second half and made two regulation saves and one in the overtimes while facing a combined 12 shots.
“Both goalkeepers played outstanding, and I’m very proud of them,” Van Linder said. “Not many teams would play two keepers in a game like this, but we have the best tandem of keepers in the (Southland Conference).
“Our back four were phenomenal as well and continue to get better. This confidence will help us after playing two SEC teams (Texas A&M on Sunday) in three days. We didn’t get much respect in the preseason (from the Southland Conference), and maybe now we earned that respect. We want to move forward and continue to show everybody what we’re about.”
The scoreless LSU first half was the second straight clean half against an SEC opponent after No. 5 Texas A&M didn’t score in the second half of a 3-0 Aggies’ win.
Briscoe attempted a team-high three shots (two on goal) while Camila Ardila took two shots. Four of NSU’s nine shots were on goal.
The Lady Demons head to Jackson State on Sunday for a 1 p.m. contest.
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