LAKE CHARLES – One of the most outstanding performances of the season came up a bit short on Friday evening as the McNeese women's soccer team fell in overtime play to Southland Conference leader Stephen F. Austin in a 1-0 affair.
Six minutes into overtime Ladyjacks forward Zuri Prince tallied the game-winner. Prince gathered a Brooke Dunnigan corner kick and was able to head in a shot from inside the box that found the net to hand the Ladyjacks the victory.
The Cowgirls became only the third team this season to hold the fiery SFA offense to one goal or less. No. 9 Texas A&M shutout the Ladyjacks 1-0 earlier in the year while a showdown with LSU ended in a double overtime tie.
"I thought our team came out and played well tonight," said head coach
Scooter Savoie. "We had a great week of preparation and knew that in order to compete that we needed to step up and play a great game in which we did tonight."
The Cowgirls move to 4-8-1 overall and 2-4 in league action while Stephen F. Austin improved to 9-2-1 overall and 5-0 in conference play.
Stephen F. Austin outshot McNeese 19-13, including an 11-5 mark in the second half. Cowgirl goalkeeper
Lauren Sestak tallied five saves in the 96 minutes played.
Senior
Tori Lasiter led all players with five shots on the night, putting one on frame. Senior
Amanda Denton and freshman
Savannah LaRicci paced the McNeese offense with three on-target shots apiece.
Both teams received opportunities but were unable to capitalize early as the Ladyjacks recorded eight corner kicks to the Cowgirls' four. The final corner kick for SFA led to the overtime win.
Following the match, McNeese recognized its six senior players that included
Haley Lyons,
Tori Lasiter,
Krista Steinbeiser,
Amanda Denton,
Allison Northcutt and
Cheyenne Ganley.
"I am really proud of our seniors and the leadership they have provided this year," said Savoie. "They have been examples of leadership on and off the field and it was great to be able to honor them tonight."
McNeese will return to action on Sunday when it welcomes Northwestern State to Lake Charles for a match scheduled to kick off at 1 p.m.
