Lady Cajuns Soccer 2003

[NewsCopy]

Kickoff set for 1 p.m. at Cajun Field

LOUISIANA La. - Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns women's soccer team will wrap up its current three-match homestand Sunday with a 1 p.m. match against in-state foe McNeese State at Cajun Field.

The Lady Cajuns (4-3) and Cowgirls (1-5) will be meeting for the first time. The two teams were scheduled to meet in the 2001 season at Moore Park in Carencro, but the events of Sept. 11 forced the cancellation of the match and it could not be rescheduled.

Louisiana enters the match after suffering a 4-0 setback to Louisiana State Friday night at Cajun Field - its first loss to a team from Louisiana this season.

The Lady Cajuns have avoided a losing streak this season, bouncing back from each of their losses with a win in the next outing.

MSU brings a five-match losing streak into Sunday's matinee. The Cowgirls have dropped each match since opening the season with a 7-2 win over Prairie View A&M and have been outscored 25-2 during the skid.

MSU has been shutout in four of its six matches including the last two.

Louisiana is 3-1 this season versus state schools with wins over Nicholls State, Northwestern State and UL-Monroe.

The Lady Cajuns are 1-2 at Cajun Field this season and will not play another home match until Oct. 3 when South Alabama provides the competition for the beginning of Sun Belt Conference action.

Louisiana is led offensively by sophomore Tiffany Garber and her four goals and three match-winning goals, but she will probably miss Sunday's match after suffering an ankle injury against LSU. Garber's injury adds to a list of Cajuns sidelined which also includes Ainsley Breaux, Ashley Delahoussaye and Kristina Klausen.

The Cajuns do have other weapons to lean upon, though, as eight other players have scored at least one goal this season but only six will be available Sunday because of injuries.

* Brown is the Cajuns second-leading scorer with two goals and two assists. Five other players have tallied one goal.

MSU's leading scorer is senior Allison Arnold who has netted five goals and one assist for 11 points. Ashley Viscariello is second with two goals.

Following Sunday's match with McNeese, the Cajuns travel to Tuscaloosa, Ala., for a 7 p.m. match Friday, Sept. 26 against the University of Alabama.

LOUISIANA SI

[NewsCopy]

LOUISIANA La. – The frustration is apparent in Tiffany Garber’s voice.

Her Louisiana women’s soccer squad has also been frustrated over its past three or four matches, for different – yet likely intertwined – reasons.

Garber, the second-leading goal scorer on last year’s Cajun squad and this year’s leading point producer, has missed most of the team’s last three outings with a badly sprained right ankle.

The Cajuns haven’t scored in any of those three matches, losing to LSU 4-0 and Alabama 2-0 and battling 110 minutes (two halves and two 10-minute overtimes) in a disappointing 0-0 tie with McNeese State.

In fact, over the last 384 minutes of play, nearly six and one-half hours of soccer, Louisiana has scored exactly one goal, and that was Garber’s shot early in overtime that provided a 1-0 victory over UL Monroe way back on Sept. 14.

There’s little question that her absence has affected a Cajun offense that was already missing a lot of weapons due to injury.

The rest of the story

Dan McDonald
dmcdonald@lafayette.gannett.com

[NewsCopy]

UL hosts South Alabama in 7 p.m. match at Cajun Field

LOUISIANA La. - Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns women's soccer team opens Sun Belt Conference play here Friday at Cajun Field in a 7 p.m. match against South Alabama.

Friday's match will be the first of two scheduled for this weekend at Cajun Field. On Sunday, the Cajuns will host in-state foe Tulane at 1 p.m.

The Cajuns (4-4-1) enter the USA match looking to end a three-match winless streak and register a goal for the first time in three matches. The injury-plagued Louisiana squad has been shutout in the last three
matches.

The Cajuns have played two of those matches without their leading scorer Tiffany Garber. Garber's status is still unsure and the decision of whether she will play or not will be made within the hours approaching
the match. The Lafayette native, also the team's leading scorer with four goals, has spent the past two-plus weeks recovering from an ankle injury suffered in the LSU match.

Louisiana will receive some reinforcement for Friday's match. Senior Ashley Delahoussaye, who had been out the past two weeks recovering from a knee surgery, will be back on the field for the first time since the season opener against Jackson State in which she scored two goals.

Delahoussaye could be the spark needed for an offense that has scored just five goals in the last eight matches.

"We're about as healthy as we've been all season," said head coach Dave Poggi whose team has seen two players go down to season-ending injuries. "But were still far from being 100 percent."

"To be 4-4-1 at this stage of the season considering all of the injuries and now getting a couple of people back it is a good sign," Poggi said. "Hopefully over the next few weeks we can continue to get people back at 100 percent so that we can build upon our success and make a run for a conference championship."

Also returning for the USA match is freshman forward Lauren Schwindt who missed the Alabama match last week serving her suspension for a red card issued to her in the McNeese State match Sept. 21.

South Alabama (3-5-2) has won only one of its last six matches and has been shutout five times this season. The Jaguars snapped a four-match winless streak last weekend with a 2-0 win over Alabama A&M.

Like the Cajuns, the Jaguars have struggled to produce goals. USA has found the back of the net just eight times in 10 matches and has been shutout five times this season.

Louisiana is 0-2-1 all-time in Sun Belt openers and versus South Alabama.

The Cajuns have never scored against the Jaguars in three meetings, but in the last two matches USA only has a 1-0 advantage in goals scored.

The only Jaguars goal in the last two matches came in the final 30-seconds of the 2001 match played at Moore Park in Carencro as USA escaped with a 1-0 win in its only other visit to the Cajuns home field.


Last season the two teams opened conference play in Mobile and played to a scoreless draw. Liza Preseault made 10 saves for the Cajuns including two in the overtime session.

The Jaguars are 4-0-1 all-time in conference openers. USA won both of its league openers while a member of the Big South Conference in 1997 and 1998 and is 2-0-1 in Sun Belt openers.

LOUISIANA SI

[NewsCopy]

Louisiana visits Centenary College

SHREVEPORT - The Lady Cajuns of Louisiana soccer team will play its final non-conference match of the season here Thursday night in a 7 p.m. match against in-state foe Centenary College at Mayo Field.

Thursday's match will be the first of two this week on the road for the Cajuns (4-6-1) who will play four of their next six matches away from Cajun Field. Louisiana rounds out the road trip and returns to Sun Belt Conference play on Sunday in a Noon (CST) match at Florida International.

The Lady Cajuns will be attempting to snap a five-match winless and three-match losing streak. Louisiana's last win came onSunday, Sept. 14 against UL Monroe.

Centenary (5-6-1) has won its last three matches after enduring a five-match winless streak of its own Sept. 7-26. The Ladies have posted a shutout in each match during the current streak.

Tiffany Garber, the Cajuns leading scorer with four goals, returned to action last Sunday against Tulane and will be available to play Thursday. Garber's speed could be the spark the Cajuns need to jumpstart an offense that has scored just once in the last five matches.

Centenary is led by Mindi Levinski's five goals and four assists. She has tallied four of those goals during the recent three-match win streak.

The Ladies lead the all-time series 2-1. Louisiana won the last meeting taking a 1-0 victory last season at Cajun Field.

Centenary posted a 2-1 win Oct. 22, 2000, in the only other meeting between the two teams at Mayo Field.

LOUISIANA SI

[NewsCopy]

Louisiana picks up its first Sun Belt win of the season on Lauren Schwindt's goal

MIAMI - Lauren Schwindt gained possession of a Lindsay Webb free kick and promptly one-timed a volley past Florida International goalkeeper Juliana Gomez for the match-winner in the 27th minute as Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns women's soccer team claimed a 1-0 victory over FIU here Sunday afternoon at University Park.

Webb, taking the free kick from 35 yards out, sent the ball inside the box about 15 yards from the goal. That's where Schwindt ran to the ball and quickly split the FIU defenders by hammering the ball into the back of the net for the lone goal of the match at the 27:38 mark.

The goal was Schwindt's second of the season and her young career and helped the Ragin' Cajuns (5-7-1, 1-1 Sun Belt) snap a six-match winless and four-match losing streak.

The win was UL's first since a 1-0 overtime win over UL Monroe on Sept. 14.

The win also marked the first in the all-time series between the two teams for Louisiana, but more importantly got the Cajuns into the win column in conference play.

Louisiana goalkeeper Liza Preseault evened her season record at 3-3 and collected her first solo shutout of the season. The Bradenton, Fla., native made three saves.

"We worked real hard defensively as a unit," said UL Lafayette coach Dave Poggi. "Liza (Preseault) made a couple of big saves at critical junctures, but as a group we all fought to the end."

"I thought the key to our success today was being able to win the ball in the midfield," Poggi said. "Lauren (Schwindt) and Meredith (Smith) worked real hard keep the ball for us and as a result we were able to create good chances."

The Golden Panthers (1-10, 0-4 Sun Belt) put the Louisiana defense under a lot of pressure but were unable to find a way to score.


Janet Ligouri came close to opening the scoring for FIU at 13:01 only to have her shot strike the bottom of the left post. Tamara Kochen also had Louisiana-Lafayette goalkeeper Liza Preseault beaten, but her effort at 36:31 hit the crossbar.

"It's good to get a conference win," Poggi added. "They were unlucky and hit the post a couple of times and it could have gone either way. We made our luck today by how hard we worked."

Louisiana returns to action Friday, Oct. 17 in a 7 p.m. match against
Arkansas State at Cajun Field.

MATCH SUMMARY
Louisiana at Florida International
Date: Sunday, Oct. 12, 2003
Site: Miami, Fla. (University Park)
Attendance: 137

Goals by period 1 2 Total
Louisiana (5-7-1, 1-1 SBC) 1 0 1
FIU (1-10, 0-4 SBC) 0 0 0

SCORING SUMMARY:
1. 27:38 ULL Schwindt, Lauren (Webb, Lindsay)

Shots: Louisiana 5, FIU 9
Shots on Goal: Louisiana 3, FIU 3
Saves: Louisiana 3 (Preseault), FIU 2 (Gomez)
Fouls: Louisiana 7, FIU 4
Corner Kicks: Louisiana 3, FIU 1
Cautions: Louisiana 0, FIU 1 (Patrick, Valarie; 55:37)
Offsides: Louisiana 1, FIU 1

LOUISIANA SI

[NewsCopy]

Louisiana attempts to tie program record for wins

LOUISIANA La. - Louisiana's Lady Cajun's soccer team will make another attempt at tying the program record for wins in a season here Sunday afternoon in a 1 p.m. match against Arkansas-Little Rock at Cajun Field.

Louisiana has five wins this season which is one win shy of the program record of six set in 2001 and tied last season.

The Cajuns (5-8-1, 1-2 Sun Belt) are also looking to bounce back from a surprising 3-2 loss to Arkansas State Friday night. Louisiana fell behind 2-0 and rallied to tie the match 2-2 but a goal in the 85th minute allowed ASU to come away with the win.

"I thought we got caught flat early on and didn't pick up our intensity until the second half," said UL head coach Dave Poggi in reference to the ASU match. "The goals that they scored were ones that should have been preventable, but to go down two goals and to come back and tie the match showed a lot of character."

The Lady Cajuns will also be looking to snap a three-match home losing streak. UL is 1-5-1 at Cajun Field this season and is winless in its last five matches held at the friendly confines.

Sophomore Tiffany Garber, the team's leading scorer, notched her fifth goal of the season on Friday when her corner kick hooked into the net carrying ASU goalkeeper Adrienne Mann into the net. Garber is just four goals off of the career lead.

UALR (5-10-1, 1-4 Sun Belt), like Arkansas State, pulled off a surprising win Friday taking a 2-1 win over South Alabama for its first conference win of the season. The Trojans jumped out to a 2-0 lead 22 minutes into the contest and held on to a 2-1 lead the entire second half.

The Trojans will be will be without their leading scorer Dee Dee Beyhan (13 goals, 2 assists) for Sunday's match. Beyhan was issued a yellow card in the 63rd minute for a hard foul against a South Alabama player, and then was issued a red card and was ejected from the game in the 83rd minute for another hard tackle. According to Sun Belt Conference regulations, any player who receives a red card is required to sit out the next game.

Louisiana leads the all-time series 2-1 and has won the last two meetings. Last season the Cajuns took a 3-1 win in Little Rock. The Cajuns posted a 2-0 decision Oct. 14, 2001, in the only other meeting in Lafayette.

Following Sunday's match the Cajuns will play their final two road matches of the season at North Texas Oct. 24 and Denver Oct. 26. The next home match is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 31 versus Western
Kentucky.LOUISIANA SI

[NewsCopy]

Louisiana ties program record for wins

LOUISIANA La. - Kelli Good's penalty kick in the 26th minute was the difference here Sunday afternoon at Cajun Field as Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns women's soccer team posted a 1-0 win over Arkansas-Little Rock in Sun Belt Conference action.

The goal was Good's third of the season and allowed the Cajuns to even their conference record at 2-2. Louisiana also picked up its sixth victory of the season which ties the program record established in 2001 and tied last season.

UALR, playing without leading scorer Dee Dee Beyhan (13 goals, 2 assists) who was serving a one-match suspension for a red card Friday at South Alabama, fell to 5-11-1 overall and 1-5 in the Sun Belt.

"This was an important conference win for us because it all but guarantees us a trip to the Sun Belt Tournament," said Louisiana coach Dave Poggi. "The results that happened Friday night kind of turned everything upside down, so for us this was an important result that we needed."

The win was also the Cajuns third straight over UALR and ended a five-match winless streak and at Cajun Field.

Freshman goalkeeper Anna Brannon collected four saves including a diving stop of a shot by UALR's Stacie St. Julian in the 79th minute to preserve the clean sheet - one of four second-half saves made by the Acadiana High product.

The shutout was Brannon's third solo shutout of the season and the team's fifth which ties the program single-season record for shutouts.

Unlike Friday's match, the Cajuns came out strong and set the tone of the match with their defense. Louisiana held the Trojans without a shot attempt the entire first half as UALR was unable to create any scoring chances deep inside Cajun territory.

"I thought that defensively we limited them and it showed in the first half," Poggi said. "Offensively we created good goal-scoring chances and avoided the mistakes that hurt us Friday."

The LAdy Cajuns caught a break when UALR was whistled for a hand-ball violation inside the penalty box at the 26:49 mark of the first half. UL was awarded a penalty kick and Good made sure the Cajuns took advantage sending her shot into the upper-left corner of the net past Trojans goalie Marsha Stewart for the match-winner.

"I think it was a just result," Poggi remarked. "You could look at the stats and say that they scored on a penalty kick, but we had other chances as well.

"I feel like the result was deserving," Poggi added. "People stepped up their game today and played as a unit and that's what got us the result."

Tiffany Garber led all Cajuns with four shots. The sophomore forward now has 30 shots this season which is four from tying the program's single-season record of 34 set by Melissa Purvis in 2001.

The Cajuns will return to action next weekend for their final two road matches of the regular season. Louisiana visits North Texas on Friday, Oct. 24 and Denver Sunday, Oct. 26.

LOUISIANA SI

[NewsCopy]

Louisiana has opportunity to clinch Sun Belt Tournament spot

LOUISIANA La. - Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns women's soccer team opens the final weekend of regular season play Friday night in a 7 p.m. match against Western Kentucky at Cajun Field.

Friday's match is the first of two this weekend for the Cajuns at Cajun Field. On Sunday, UL wraps up the regular season and home schedule with a 1 p.m. match against Middle Tennessee.

The Cajuns (6-10-1, 2-4 Sun Belt) enter Friday's match off of tough losses to Sun Belt front-runners Denver and North Texas last weekend. UL is 1-2 at home this season in Sun Belt play and defeated Arkansas-Little Rock 1-0 on Oct. 19 in the last Sun Belt match at Cajun Field.

WKU (8-5-2, 3-1-2 Sun Belt) is winless in its last three matches after opening conference play with a 3-0 mark. The Toppers tied North Texas and Middle Tennessee and dropped a 3-0 decision to Denver.

The Hilltoppers are 2-0 on the road in Sun Belt play picking up victories at Arkansas State and UALR.

The Cajuns offensive efforts are spearheaded by sophomore Tiffany Garber's five goals. Garber enters the weekend just two goals shy of 10 for her career.

WKU features one of the Sun Belt Conference's top freshmen in Jenna Silverberg. Silverberg leads the Toppers with 12 goals and three match-winners.

The Hilltoppers own a 2-1 advantage in the all-time series by virtue of a 2-1 win in last season's SBC Tournament. In regular season play the two schools have split two meetings with the visiting team winning each time.

The Cajuns won last season's regular-season tilt in Bowling Green, Ky., on a Kristina Klausen overtime goal. WKU posted a 2-0 win on Oct. 26, 2001 in the last meeting in Lafayette.

SUN BELT TOURNAMENT SCENARIOS: The Cajuns enter the final weekend of play all but assured of a spot in the upcoming Hardee's Sun Belt Conference Tournament, but have yet to clinch that spot officially.

A win or tie on Friday, or a Florida International loss, will clinch a berth for the Cajuns. FIU hosts front-runners Denver (Friday) and North Texas (Sunday) this weekend.

UL is currently in sixth place in the Sun Belt standings and sits one game behind fifth-place South Alabama (3-3 Sun Belt).

The only way the Cajuns do not make the tournament is if they go 0-2 this weekend, Arkansas-Little Rock beats Arkansas State and FIU goes 2-0.

LOUISIANA SI

[NewsCopy]

UL takes on Middle Tennessee in 1 p.m. match at Cajun Field

LOUISIANA La. - Thanks to Denver's victory over Florida International Friday night Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns women's soccer team clinched a spot for the 2003 Hardee's Sun Belt Conference Tournament next week in Bowling Green, Ky.

Now all that's left to settle is the Lady Cajuns seed for the tournament and first round opponent.

That will be determined following Sunday's regular season and home finale against Middle Tennessee in a 1 p.m. match at Cajun Field on "Senior Day."

Louisiana (6-11-1, 2-5 Sun Belt) can finish as either the sixth, seventh or eighth seed.

The scenarios are simple.

Win or tie Sunday's match and the Cajuns will be the No. 6 seed against an opponent to be determined depending on the rest of Sunday's league results.

Lose and they will in all likelihood fall to the No. 8 seed and have to face Denver (14-2, 7-1 Sun Belt) in the first round of the tournament.

Sunday's match will mark the final home match of the season for the Cajuns and wrap up the second season of play at Cajun Field.

UL will also be honoring senior Ashley Delahoussaye - the first four-year senior in program history who will be playing for the final time at home in a Cajuns uniform.

The Cajuns enter Sunday's match on a three-match losing streak and are coming off of a 4-1 loss to Western Kentucky on Friday. The defense has been hit hard lately as the Cajuns have allowed 14 goals in the last three matches.

MT (11-6-2, 4-1-2 Sun Belt) is currently riding a four-match unbeaten streak and has tied its last two Sun Belt matches. The Blue Raiders drew a 1-1 tie with South Alabama on Friday in their last outing and still have a chance of finishing as the No. 2 seed.

Rebecca Rodriguez leads the MT offense with 12 goals scored. Emily Carter (10 goals) and Laura Miguez (six goals) combine with Rodriguez to give the Blue Raiders a potent offense.

The Blue Raiders own a 4-3 victory over North Texas and scored two goals on Denver.

Louisiana leads the all-time series 2-1 and has won the last two meetings. The Cajuns posted a 1-0 win on Oct. 28, 2001, in the only previous meeting to take place in Lafayette.

Following Sunday's match the Ragin' Cajuns will depart Lafayette on Tuesday, Nov. 4 for the Hardee's Sun Belt Conference Tournament and open tournament play on Wednesday, Nov. 5 against an opponent to be determined.

LOUISIANA SI

[NewsCopy]

Women’s soccer ousted from SBC tourney

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Jenni Harris recorded a hat trick to lead Denver to a 5-0 win over UL here Wednesday in the opening round of the 2003 Hardee’s Sun Belt Conference Tournament at the WKU Soccer Complex.

With the loss, the Ragin’ Cajun women saw their fourth season in program history come to a close. The Cajuns ended with a 6-13-1 record and remain winless in four SBC Tournament appearances.

The rest of the story