LAKE CHARLES – After opening the season with a 2-1 road victory at Alcorn on Thursday, the McNeese Cowgirls (1-0-0) return home Sunday to host Southern Mississippi (1-0-0) at Cowgirl Field. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. and the match will be streamed live on ESPN+.

Sunday's match up marks just the fourth meeting all-time between the two programs and the first in 25 years.

The Cowgirls opened the season with a strong showing from a group that featured plenty of new faces. Eleven Cowgirls made their McNeese debuts at Alcorn, while 23 different players saw action in the season opener. Four players also made their first career Division I starts.

Emma Korhonen recorded her first Division I goal in the 32nd minute before adding her first Division I assist just one minute later. Gabbi Barusic followed with her first collegiate goal in the 33rd minute, while Ella Grace Davis picked up her first career assist.

The Golden Eagles were picked to finish 10th in the Sun Belt Conference preseason poll and opened the season with a convincing 4-0 victory at Alabama State. Southern Miss featured three different goal scorers in the win and put the match away early, earning Danny Owens his first victory as head coach.

vs. Southern Mississippi
Date: Sunday, Aug. 16
Time: 5:00 p.m.
Location: Lake Charles, La.
Venue: Cowgirl Field
Live Stats
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Match Notes:

• First meeting between the programs since the 2001 season
• McNeese is coming off a 2-1 season opener victory over Alcorn on Thursday
• Head Coach Alexsis Cable picked up her first career win against Alcorn
• 23 Cowgirls saw action on the pitch in the season opener
• 11 players wore a Cowgirl jersey for the first time
• 4 players made their first Division I start of their career Thursday (Shannon Dempsey, Caitlyn Trosclaire, Ashley Guild, and Anna Beth Korhonen)
• Emma Korhonen netted her first goal of her Division I career in the 32nd minute while also being credited with her first Division I assist one minute later.
• Gabbi Barusic netted her first collegiate goal in the 33rd minute
• Ella Grace Davis was credited with her first career assist
• Cowgirls beat LSU-Eunice in their sole exhibition match of the season 7-0
• Six different Cowgirls scored in the match (Morgan Fiedler - 2 goals, Ashley Guild - 1 goal, Sumayah Brown - 1goal, Rhiannon Maynes-Tourond - 1 goal, Gabbi Barusic - 1 goal courtesy of PK, and Kenya Corriea - 1 goal)
• Freshman, Isabella Baltov was named the 2025-2026 Gatorade Louisiana Girls' Soccer Player of the Year back in June after setting the Caddo Parish record for most goals in a high school career with 176.
• Rhiannon Maynes-Tourond returns to the Cowgirls after leading the team in goals last season with six.
• McNeese returns two goalies from last season in #0 Shannon Dempsey and #99 Celeste Marijnissen
• Marijnissen returns with the most experience in the net for the Cowgirls after starting/appearing in 17 matches last season while seeing 1,449:18 minutes in the net.
• Coach Alexsis Cableis in her first season at the helm of the Cowgirls after serving as an Assistant Coach at North Texas the last five season.
• Cowgirls return 13 players, and welcome 16 newcomers consisting of 12 freshmen and four transfers.
• 12 of the 13 returners appeared in at least 10 matches last season
• Cowgirl soccer is composed of 5 international players from 4 different countries (Canada, Panama, Sweden, and Netherlands)