LOUISIANA – Julia Ortiz, who spent the 2021 season as an assistant at Little Rock, was named as the first appointment to the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Women's Soccer coaching staff, head coach Chris McBride announced on Tuesday.

Ortiz, who will oversee the Ragin' Cajuns goalkeepers, helped guide Little Rock to nine shutouts on the year while ranking 81st nationally and second in the Sun Belt with a .400 shutout percentage.

Under her guidance, Little Rock also ranked 98th nationally and second in the league with a 1.028 goals against average. The Trojans advanced to the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Tournament before falling in penalty kicks to eventual league champion South Alabama.

"I'm very excited to add Julia to our coaching staff here at Louisiana," McBride said. "During the interview process, Julia's energy and enthusiasm for developing relationships and impacting young women's lives stood out.

"Julia will be responsible for our goalkeepers and her experience working in the Sun Belt Conference and across three different divisions shows that she can develop goalkeepers at any level. Our athletes will benefit greatly from having Julia on our staff."

Ortiz spent the 2020 season at in-state program LSU-Shreveport where she was a graduate assistant with the Pilots. During her lone season in Shreveport, she helped guide LSUS to a 14-6-1 record, including a 6-1 mark in Red River Athletic Conference play.

Ortiz was a four-year goalkeeper at Saint Leo (Fla.), playing 43 games in net for the Lions. She registered a 1.61 goals against average and tallied 165 career saves, starting every game as a junior and senior. She played a key role in helping Saint Leo capture the Sunshine State Conference title as a freshman with the Lions finishing the year among the national top-20.

A native of Bradenton, Fla., Ortiz earned her degree in sport business from Saint Leo in 2020.