LAKE CHARLES – McNeese Soccer (11-3-1, 7-1) posted a 7-0 shutout victory over University of the Incarnate Word (2-11, 1-7) on Cowgirl Senior Day- scoring a goal for each of the seven seniors.
Starting mid-fielder,
Taylor Trent was part of the squad's record breaking shutout with 22 minutes of play split between the first and second half. The 7-0 victory is McNeese's 11
th of the season, boosting them into first place in program history for shutouts in a season.
Annie Bravenec notched her final 90 minutes at Cowgirl Field and took home the shutout win after dedicating over 2,000 minutes to Cowgirl soccer over the past five years.
Nikki Schaaf put up a full 90 minutes for the Cowgirls, her 13
th time doing so this season. Schaaf took no time at all to assist McNeese in taking a 1-0 lead, sending a high ball into the box for
Rachel Palet to get a head on and score the game-winner.
Schaaf and senior teammate
Gabi D'Alesandro were a part of a defense that allowed only two shots in the entire match- the Cardinals lowest offensive performance of the season.
D'Alesandro also played a part in the Cowgirl offense, moving into the midfielder spot after starting the match on the line. With D'Alesandro's help, McNeese's seven goals are the most the Cowgirls have scored in a match since 2011.
Palet's corner kick skills would help land McNeese another scoring opportunity in the 20
th minute, when junior
Nola Prickett would find one of Palet's balls in the box. The kick would be deflected off of the back of a defending UIW player, before Prickett managed to take a shot and score, putting the Cowgirls up 2-0 in the first half.
Savannah LaRicci was one of six Cowgirls with two or more shots in Sunday's contest. LaRicci assisted freshman forward,
Havana Johnson on her goal in the first half with 32:03 on the clock. The assist is LaRicci's 17
th in her career, tying her for first in Cowgirl history. At the half, McNeese lead UIW, 3-0.
"UIW is pretty banged up and I think a tough game on Friday coupled with the heat today, and it being our Senior Day made it especially tough for them. They are a good group though and when healthy I think they'll be a force to be reckoned with because they'll have so much depth being developed right now," head coach
Drew Fitzgerald said.
Kayla Goedicke the starting forward from Katy, Texas, went 1-1 in shots on goal in her final game at Cowgirl Field. Goedicke took one shot on goal in the 57
th minute of play and with the assistance of freshman
Maddie Neidig, added the fourth score of the game. The goal would be Goedicke's first of the season and the 12
th of her career.
Sara Ortiz, with 64 minutes on the pitch, was a key part of the Cowgirl offense. Ortiz got a foot on the ball from a
Rachel Palet corner kick in the 59
th minute, and shifted the ball to
Morgan Middleton who sent it in to the back of the net, Ortiz's assist would help put McNeese up 5-0 over UIW.
The final two scores of the game came at the hands of freshmen
Mariah Ruelas (73:23) and
Anna Watson (81:11), with the assists credited to
Dayna Garcia and
Erin Winters.
McNeese outshot UIW in Sunday's win, 18-2, while handing UIW its sixth straight loss and bringing the all-time series record to 3-1-1 in favor of the Cowgirls.
"It was a great Senior Day. You could tell our younger players really wanted to make it a great day for their upperclassmen. I'm grateful we could make those senior final home match a great memory for them," Fitzgerald said.
The Cowgirls will wrap up the remainder of the 2017 season on the road, traveling to Corpus Christi (Oct 20), Houston Baptist (Oct 22), and finishing the season at Lamar (Oct 27). Fans can find more information regarding Cowgirl soccer at McNeeseSports.com or on Twitter at @McNeeseSoccer.
