MOBILE, Ala. - Louisiana's Lady Cajuns soccer team fell in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament 3-2 to top-seeded North Texas Wednesday, Nov. 2 in Mobile, Ala. The Cajuns end the first season under head coach Scot Wieland with a 4-10-3 record.
The Ragin' Cajuns took a 1-0 lead with a goal from Erika Saffer at 5:21. The freshman from Loveland, Colo., took a pass from Erin Thompson and slid it by North Texas' all-conference goalie Kandice Ellis.
The Mean Green responded with a goal of their own at the 28-minute mark as Julie Radford put the ball past UL goalkeeper Stephanie Weston. UNT took the lead before the half, as Dani Slavonic scored a goal with 10 minutes remaining in the half.
In the second half, the Mean Green added another goal to make the score 3-1. Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year Heather Hutyra scored what would ultimately be the match-winning goal at the 63-minute mark.
The Cajuns scored their second goal of the morning as Thompson took a pass from Melissa Barger and punched it in for the goal.
The goal for Saffer was her third of the season. Thompson's goal in the second half was the first of the season and also the first of her career.
The assists for Thompson and Barger were the first assists of the season for the duo and also marked the second career assists for each.
Defensively for the Cajuns, Weston, a freshman from Burnaby, B.C., Canada, took the loss allowing three goals on 16 shots and 11 shots on goal, saving seven. Weston finished the season with 85 saves and 30 goals allowed. The 85 saves rank Weston 3rd in the Cajuns season annals and 4th all-time in the career list.
At the 75-minute mark of the match, sophomore Kristen Malen entered the match in relief of Weston. Malen, who started every match in 2004 as a freshman, recorded one save raising her career total to 64.
For the Ragin' Cajuns, the match marked the seventh time in school history that UL faced North Texas. The Mean Green are still perfect against the Cajuns. UL scored two goals on UNT for the first time in school history.
The Cajuns two goals mark only the second time in school history UL has scored in the SBC Tournament. The Ragin' Cajuns avoided being shutout in 2002 as the Cajuns fell to Western Kentucky, 2-1 in a match that was also played in Mobile.
LOUISIANA SI
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