Soccer: Louisiana Efficient In Second Half To Race Past Lady Lions, 3-2

Bedre with a goal and assist as Ragin’ Cajuns score three times in 11-minute span

LAFAYETTE – Karleen Bedre scored a goal and added an assist in a wild second half and the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Women’s Soccer team added goals from freshmen Alex Folchert and Tatum Beck to defeat Southeastern Louisiana, 3-2, on Friday at the Ragin’ Cajuns Track/Soccer Facility.
 
Playing its first match at home since a season-opening 1-0 win over Prairie View on Aug. 20, Louisiana (2-3-0) attempted four of its 13 shots after a scoreless intermission with three finding the back of the net in an 11-minute span.
 
Bedre opened the wild second half by both teams after she dribbled a ball into the right corner of the 18-yard box and fired a left-footed blast past SLU goalkeeper Nadine Maher in the 55^th minute and into the upper left corner of the box for a 1-0 lead.
 
SLU (1-3-0) scored on an equalizer just over five minutes later when Makenzie Maher got deep into the Louisiana box, took a one-touch pass from Mia Milton and scored past Libby Harper alte in the 60^th to knot the match at 1-1.
 
Less than a minute later, Bedre played a hand in Louisiana’s second goal of the match when she lofted a crossing pass from the left side deep into the SLU box where Folchert headed a ball past Nadine Maher for a 2-1 advantage.
 
Beck, making her first career start for the Ragin’ Cajuns, added an insurance goal and eventual game-winner in the 66^th minute when her shot from the top of the 18-yard box sailed over Nadine Maher.
 
SLU, which was displaced from the impact on the Hammond campus from Hurricane Ida, added a goal in the 68^th minute when Mya Guillory scored on an unassisted goal past Harper, but Louisiana’s defense kept the defending Southland Conference champions from adding an equalizer.
 
Louisiana came out firing early, posting a 9-4 advantage in shots with five attempts on goal. Bedre and Beck each took three shots for Louisiana, which held a 13-11 advantage in shots and moved to 3-0-1 in the last four meetings against the Lady Lions.
 
Harper recorded a pair of saves for the Ragin’ Cajuns while Nadine Maher stopped six shots for SLU.
 
Guillory and Makenzie Maher each attempted three shots for the Lady Lions, who fell to 0-3-0 on the road after opening the season with losses at Grand Canyon and nationally-ranked Arizona State.
 
Louisiana will return to action on Sunday when it will travel to face Houston in a 1 p.m., match at the Carl Lewis International Complex. The match was originally scheduled to be played in Lafayette, but the match was moved due to travel logistical concerns for the Cougars caused by Hurricane Ida.
 
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