Soccer: Ragin’ Cajuns Soccer Set For Senior Weekend

LAFAYETTE – This weekend the Ragin’ Cajuns women’s soccer team plays their last two regular season games, both at home, as they host the South Alabama Jaguars on Friday, Oct. 20 at 7 p.m., followed by welcoming in the Troy Trojans on Sunday, Oct. 22 at 1 p.m.
           
Friday’s match is senior day and prior to the start of the match the Cajuns will be holding a ceremony honoring seven seniors on their final match at the Ragin’ Cajuns Soccer/Track Facility. 
           
Those seniors include Kimberly Grasso, Taylor Kennedy, Haley Boroch, Cassandra Reyes, Whitney Taggart, Ashleigh Cade and Denice Emokpae.
 
GRASSO CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: Grasso has been a spark plug for the Cajuns for over five seasons.  Grasso was named to the 2014 Louisiana Sports Writers Association First Team, the 2014 NSCAA All-South Region Third Team and the 2014 All-Sun Belt Conference Second Team.  During her time, here she’s accumulated 11 goals, three assists and 25 points while playing in 71 games so far and playing 4,822 minutes in a Louisiana kit.  She fought back from an injury that knocked her out of the 2016 season and she’s stormed back to be a super-sub for the Cajuns’ 2017 squad.
 
KENNEDY CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: Another fifth-year senior, Kennedy, who’s home grown hailing from Lafayette, has been a leader in the Cajuns midfield every time she’s stepped on the pitch in a Cajuns kit.  An injury in 2016 knocked her out for that season but she rehabbed to return for the 2017 season maintaining her trademark smile and work ethic.  She’s played in 66 games so far in her career, putting together 3,381 minutes with three goals and seven points.
 
BOROCH CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: The 2017 season has been kind for Boroch as the Cajuns midfielder has put together a career season, scoring four goals to add to her career total of seven.  She’s put together 16 points over four years, with most of her playing time coming in the last two seasons.  Overall Boroch has played 1,226 minutes, but the highlight of her time in Louisiana came on Sept. 17 when Boroch hit, on the volley, the latest regulation goal in Cajuns history scoring the equalizer against Little Rock with two second left in the match.
 
REYES CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: Reyes, a.k.a ‘Cassie’, came to the Cajuns after spending two seasons at Cerritos College, she suffered an injury heading into the 2016 season and sat that season out with a medical redshirt.  Reyes fought back and has been a part of the Cajuns 2017 squad and over the two seasons here at Louisiana she’s played in 24 games, scoring one goal, recording two assists and getting four points.  She’s played 736 minutes so far and she nailed the game winning goal against Georgia Southern on Sept. 25, 2015.
 
TAGGART CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: Taggart, a 2017 Cajuns captain, has been a steady presence in the Cajuns midfield since first putting on the Cajuns’ colors.  In four seasons, she’s played in 60 games, scoring six goals and getting 13 points.  But it’s been her leadership on the pitch, letting her actions speak louder than her words, that’s been a key part of the Cajuns squads over the past few seasons.  Taggart scored three winning goals in 2016, but the biggest was a game winner against South Alabama on Oct. 9 that gave the Cajuns a 3-2 win over the Jaguars.
 
CADE CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: For four years Cade has been a weapon for the Cajuns both as a forward attacking the net and setting up her teammates across the pitch.  Cade’s throw-in has been deemed the ‘Cade Special’ and it’s been an asset for Louisiana for the past four seasons.  Her ability to get the ball into the box from 30-yards out has led to her 21 assists she’s recorded so far in her career.  Her 11 assists after the 2016 season was good enough to finish fifth in the country and her two goals and one assist against Georgia Southern on Sept. 24, got her named SBC Offensive Player of the Week for the weekend of Sept 22-24.  She’s scored eight goals so far in her career and she’ll leave Louisiana as the career leader in assists and in the top five for points recorded.
 
EMOKPAE CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: A threat up front for the Cajuns, Emokpae has been creating havoc for SBC defenders for the past four seasons.  She’s played in 39 games over her career scoring eight goals and 17 points.  An injury in 2016 knocked her out for the season but she’s stormed back to score four goals in 2017, adding to her minutes which now sit at 1,910 over her career.  Through the 2017 conference season Emokpae has scored three goals helping keep the Cajuns in the hunt for a spot in the conference tournament.
           
As for the Cajuns postseason picture, they currently sit in eighth place due to tiebreaking scenarios as their eight points puts them even with Little Rock but due to the Cajuns beating Arkansas State and Little Rock losing to the Red Wolves Louisiana owns the breaker over the Trojans.
           
The one x-factor for the Cajuns playoff picture is the matchup with South Alabama who neither Little Rock or the Cajuns have played yet.  It makes Friday’s match rather important for Louisiana as Little Rock will be playing South Alabama next Friday, Oct. 27, in a makeup match from a canceled match due to severe weather situations earlier in the season.
           
It means that depending on the Cajuns’ results this weekend their chances of making it into the Sun Belt Conference tournament could be decided on the tiebreaking scenarios created by both team’s records against South Alabama.
           
Louisiana’s record all-time against South Alabama sits at 4-9-5 but the Cajuns got the big upset last season in Mobile, Ala.  They went into Jaguar country on Oct. 9, 2016, and came away with a huge 3-2 win.  It was their first win against South Alabama since taking the Jaguars down on Sept. 24, 2010 in Lafayette.
           
The win on Sept. 24, 2010 is also the last time the Cajuns won against South Alabama in Lafayette, but they did get a 1-1 result in Lafayette against the Jaguars on Oct. 21, 2012.
           
As for Sunday’s senior day matchup against Troy, the Cajuns enter the match with a 4-8-1 record all-time against the Trojans.  But, much like they did against South Alabama, the Cajuns went into Troy, Ala., last season and came away with a 3-2 win on Sept. 25, 2016.  Troy’s weekend consists of first playing a match on Friday, where they’ll play Texas State in San Marcos, Texas before making the trip east to Lafayette to take on the Cajuns.
           
Louisiana is 2-3-1 against Troy in Lafayette, having won the first two matchups between the two schools on Oct. 21, 2005, a 2-1 Cajuns win and on Oct. 22, 2006, a 1-0 overtime victory for Louisiana.

Follow @RaginCajunsSOC on twitter for updates on any changes to match start times due to weather or other circumstances.  Both matches will be streamed live on the Ragin’ Cajuns Digital Network and links to both the live stream and live stats will be provided on twitter.
           
In the interest of public safety and following the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security (NCS4) Best Practices Guide, the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Athletics Department is implementing a clear bag policy at all venues that host ticketed events effective with the 2017-18 competition season. Information about this new policy can be found by visiting www.RaginCajuns.com/clearbag.
           
For more information on Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns women’s soccer, as well as all of Ragin’ Cajuns Athletics, visit RaginCajuns.com. Fans can also follow along with the team on Facebook (search UL Ragin’ Cajuns Soccer) and Instagram (@RaginCajunsSOC).