LAKE CHARLES – The McNeese women's soccer team was unable to overcome a 2-0 first half deficit and dropped its first match of the season to the Houston Cougars on Sunday at Cowgirl Field.
 
The Cougars (1-0-1) struck first just over six minutes into the match as Houston's Kayla Walker knocked in the first goal off of a crossbar ricochet.
 
Walker got her team on the board again in the 31^st minute, as she was able to knock in her second goal of the match off of a shot that was blocked by the Cowgirl (1-1) defense.
 
A McNeese offense that was stymied to just three shots in the first half was able to come out after the break and attack the Cougar side of the field rocketing five shots at the opposition. Included in the attack was a free kick attempt by senior Krista Steinbeiser in the 80^th minute.  Her initial kick was blocked while a second shot taken by the midfielder barely missed the net.
 
"At the end of the day, I thought we performed well," said head coach Scooter Savoie.  "Obviously, the heat was going to be a factor in the match and that the competition was going to be faster and more athletic than Friday, but all-in-all I thought we got better as the match progressed."
 
The fiery Cougar offense was limited to just three shots in the second, none of which were on goal.  Houston had attempted 11 shots in the first half with seven on target.
 
"We ended the first half in a bit of a panic," said Savoie.  "But, I was proud of how we calmed down at halftime and regrouped.  We looked better in the second half and found our shape.  We were able to limit their scoring opportunities and gave ourselves some opportunities as well.  We had a few near misses that we just weren't able to capitalize on.
 
The Cowgirls finished with eight shots on the day including a team-high three by sophomore Hannah Sutherland. Sutherland also attempted a shot on target as well as Kayla Goedicke, Michelle Petrarca and Gabi D'Alesandro.
 
"One thing we were able to do was test a lot of our players today," said Savoie.  "We got ladies into the match who saw a good amount of time on the field.  We were able to stretch players like Hannah (Sutherland) and Brooke Dusek minutes wise, which is important.  Getting experience for these players will eventually add up and play a big role for us come the end of the season."
 
Junior goalkeeper Maggie Marks picked up five saves in the match before sophomore Annie Bravenec came in to finish the game between the posts in the 71^st minute.
 
The Cowgirls will have an opportunity to bounce back in the upcoming week when they take to the road for a three-game stretch that begins with a contest at in-state rival Louisiana-Lafayette on Fri., August 29 at 7 p.m.  McNeese will then travel to Jackson State on Sun., August 31 and to Texas-San Antonio on Fri., Sept. 5 before coming home to face Southern on Fri., Sept. 12 at 7 p.m.