Soccer: Cajuns Wrap Up Regular Season With Win Over ULM On Senior Day

Box Score (PDF)

LAFAYETTE, La. – Goals by Kimberly Grasso, Elizabeth Manuel and Madison Duncan helped the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns soccer team to a 4-2 victory over ULM on Senior Day at the Cajuns Soccer Complex.
 
Prior to Sunday’s match, the Cajuns honored seniors Grace Howell-Harries and Tina Sanchez for their contributions to the program. Sunday’s start for Howell-Harries was the 75^th of her career, moving her into a tie for second in the Louisiana record book.
 
"Tina’s done a good job. A junior college girl comes in and gets elected captain as a captain her senior year, that means she was doing great things," said head coach Scot Wieland. "She came in as a senior and matured a lot this year. You can’t ask for more from Grace. For what she has put into this program, I couldn’t have asked for more. She’s an amazing kid. I’ve proud of both seniors, and happy for them."
 
Louisiana (9-7-2, 4-4-1 SBC) outshot the Warhawks 20-11 and held a 13-7 shot on goal advantage. Redshirt freshman goalie Alexias Stricklin (7-7-1) earned the win for the Cajuns, allowing two goals and collecting five saves. ULM goalkeeper Katherine Werther (7-7) suffered the loss, allowing three goals while recording seven saves. 

"I thought we played very composed," Wieland said. "They did what they needed to do. Tactically, we kept our shape. We picked up the pace the second half. I thought we moved the ball a little bit faster, which gave us a little more offense. It’s always great to end your regular season with a win and send your seniors home with a win."
 
Grasso gave the Cajuns an early lead, one that they would never relinquish, with a goal in the 5^th minute of the match. After a cross by freshman midfielder Ashleigh Cade came off the hands of Werther, Grasso took control of the ball in the six-yard box before firing into the net for a 1-0 lead. Louisiana would take the 1-0 advantage into halftime.
 
In the 55^th minute, junior forward Elizabeth Manuel gave the Cajuns some breathing room as sophomore forward Annika Schmidt found Manuel on the right side of the box. Manuel then shot one towards the goal, finding the bottom left corner to extend Louisiana’s lead to 2-0.
 
Duncan’s eventual game winner came in the 72^nd minute as a shot by sophomore defender Lindsay Brammer went off the hands of Werther before Duncan found the net to push it to 3-0.
 
ULM (8-10-1, 2-7 SBC) got on the board five minutes later as Antonia Land sailed a shot over Stricklin to pull the Warhawks within two at 3-1. 

However, Grasso answered for Louisiana less than two and a half minutes later with a shot from inside the box off a pass from Duncan to extend the Cajuns’ lead to 4-1 in the 80^th minute.
 
ULM added a goal with five minutes to play with a score by Kelley O’Dwyer from inside the box to make it a final 4-2.
 
Grasso led Louisiana with five shots, three coming on goal, while Duncan placed all three of her shots on goal. Land and Jenna Pillon led the Warhawks with three shots apiece, each placing two on goal.
 
Louisiana enters the Sun Belt Conference Championships as the No. 7 seed where it will face No. 2 seed Troy on Wednesday, Nov. 5 at 1 p.m. at The Cage in Mobile, Alabama. 
 
It will be the second trip to Mobile for the Cajuns this season, having played SBC regular season champion South Alabama to a 4-4 draw on Oct. 5. Louisiana was the lone team the Jaguars did not defeat in conference play.
 
"The great thing about playing at South Alabama is that it’s a wide field like ours," Wieland said. "The team came off that field feeling good about themselves. That field caters to our style of play, and the girls’ last memory playing there is about playing very well."