Stephen F. Austin
Louisiana Tech
La. Tech Knocks Off Ladyjacks
9/5/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Sept. 5, 2008
RUSTON, La. - For the third time in as many games, missed opportunities were the story for the Stephen F. Austin Ladyjack soccer team. SFA created scoring chances for itself all night but came up on the short side of a 2-0 verdict at Louisiana Tech Friday night.
"I am starting to sound like a broken record," SFA head coach George Van Linder said after the game. "We created a lot of chances that we didn't finish, and then we have two mental mistakes in the back."
Louisiana Tech (2-1-0) posted a pair of first-half goals then held the Ladyjacks (1-3-0) off in the second period to secure the win.
For the second consecutive game, SFA found itself behind early on a hard-luck goal. Louisiana Tech took a 1-0 lead when the Techsters' Rachel King rebounded a shot off the post and put the ball in an empty net in the 17th minute.
The Techsters added an insurance goal in the 33rd minute, when Kristin Sevier followed a missed shot by a teammate with a scoring strike from 18 yards out.
SFA, despite playing in the Techster half of the field long enough to earn five first-half corner kicks, had just three shots in the opening period and couldn't find the net. Junior Megan Cash and freshman Katie O'Briant each recorded a shot on goal in the first half, but Louisiana Tech went to halftime with its 2-0 lead intact.
The Techsters opened the second half with three shots on goal in the first 10 minutes, but SFA goalkeeper Courtney Bauder snagged them all.
SFA had its chances in the second period. The Ladyjacks got a shot on goal from senior Summer Bradfield in the half's opening minutes, and sophomore Kesia Broome put one on goal 83 minutes in. Cash bounced two shots off the post -- the first in the 71st minute and the second coming with just 33 seconds to play.
"We hit every post and bar on the goal possible without it going in," Van Linder said.
SFA finished the second half with seven shots, just one off the eight second-half shots put up by Louisiana Tech. For the game, the Techsters outshot SFA, 14-10, with a 7-4 advantage in shots on goal. The Ladyjacks were aggressive enough to finish with an 8-1 advantage in corner kicks but couldn't put one in the net.
Bauder moved to 1-2-0 on the season. She started and played all 90 minutes, recording five saves with two goals against.
Friday's loss, coupled with last Sunday's defeat at Houston gives the Ladyjacks consecutive defeats for the first time this season. SFA is yet to win a game or score a goal in a road contest in 2008.
The loss to Louisiana Tech evens SFA's all-time series record against the Techsters, 2-2-0. Each team has now won both games at its home venue.
The Ladyjacks return home Sunday to take on Arkansas State. The game is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. from the SFA Soccer Complex, where SFA is 1-0-0 this season.
"We like how we are developing, but, as the coach, I must find a way to increase the pace of this," Van Linder said. "I am sure the players and fans will see a difference soon."
-- SFA --
