LAKE CHARLES – The McNeese State women's soccer team created plenty of scoring chances throughout Friday night's rivalry match against UL-Lafayette but were unable to capitalize as the Cowgirls were edged by the Ragin' Cajuns', 1-0, at Cowgirl Field.
 
McNeese fell to 3-2 overall on the season while ULL improved its 2015 record to 3-2.
 
The first half consisted of a defensive battle from both teams who were determined to keep the opposing team away from the net. The Cajuns controlled the field as they rocketed 11 shots, most from over 30 yards out, to try and disrupt the McNeese defense and created a chance to score from within the box. However, the Cowgirls withstood the barrage of shots and held their own as the two teams met the halftime break knotted up at 0-0.
 
"I thought it was a aggressive, fast paced match on both ends," said head coach Scooter Savoie. "I thought that the ball went down the field quite a bit. Early on, we were able to find our shape and move the ball early. Unfortunately, I thought we succumb to their style of play and was hoping for chances. The number of deep shots troubled us with the chances it had to go in and soften the team."
 
ULL was able to open up the gate and attacked the McNeese defense in the opening minutes of the second half. The Cajuns were able to get a shot from within the box and it took two attempts before ULL's Claire Ruehle snuck the winning goal past the keeper that was reflected from a rebound.
 
"That is one thing that makes corner kicks dangerous in terms of clearing shots," said Savoie. "You have to be good on the first clear and the same goes with the second clear but somehow the ball go left on the ground. I thought we cleared it twice but it just pinged around too long and broke in for the goal."
 
The goal did not force McNeese to give up but instead fought until the very last minute of the match. The Cowgirls fired off multiple shots that seemed to have a chance to hit the net but missed just wide or too high.
 
Sophomore Gabi D'Alesandro led the offensive attack with three shots in the game while freshman Nola Prickett attempted two. D'Alesandro and senior Michelle Petrarca were credited with the only shots on goal for McNeese.
 
The night was not a total loss but was a learning curve for the talented Cowgirl squad. With several battling an injury bug, an opportunity was created for several underclassman to step up and show the coaching staff their abilities.
 
"These next two weeks are very important for us and only having one match allows some important players to heal and have them ready for conference play," said Savoie. "The positive that comes out of that are the players who get to come in off the bench and play valuable minutes. The more minutes a younger player gets in a match then the better chances they have to solve problems."
 
Freshman Sarah Clayton saw all 90 minutes in the midfield while junior Kelley Clancey continues to shine in the early season. Freshman Morgan Middleton also spent the entire match pacing the McNeese attack while sophomore Sierra Sisco is getting back into the groove.
 
McNeese will spend the rest of the weekend resting up before traveling to Texas for a battle with Houston on Friday, Sept. 11. The Cowgirls will then travel back to Lake Charles to open the conference slate with Southeastern Louisiana on Friday, Sept 18.