University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Cajuns Ready for Pivotal Road Match
10/20/2010 2:55:00 PM | Soccer
Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns soccer team travels to Florida Atlantic for a pivotal Sun Belt Conference match-up on Thursday night.
The Cajuns (8-9-0, 3-5-0), who haven't qualified for the Sun Belt Tournament since 2007, currently sit in a three-way tie with Florida Atlantic (4-11-0, 3-5-0) and Arkansas State (7-8-1, 3-5-0) for seventh place in the SBC standings. If the tournament started today, the Cajuns and the Owls would qualify for the eight-team field by virtue of wins over the Red Wolves.
However, that picture will change tomorrow as either UL or FAU will take control of their own destiny in the race for a Sun Belt tournament berth. Kick-off between the Cajuns and Owls is set for 6:00 p.m. CT.
Head coach Scot Wieland addressed the media earlier this week during a media luncheon. Click here to view Coach Wieland's comments regarding the matchup with FAU.
The Cajuns have already defeated Arkansas State this season, which means a win over Florida Atlantic would give Louisiana the tie-breaker over both. Arkansas State is scheduled to host No.21 Denver on Thursday afternoon.
The Cajuns biggest offensive threat as of late has been senior forward Chlesea Balestra. The Plano, Texas native has posted six goals, the most on the team, with five coming in Sun Belt conference games.
The Cajuns have gotten large contributions from other seniors as well. Courtney Hofland has now played in more games in her career than any other Cajun and is also currently tied for first place on the career assists and points lists.
Another senior, Kelli Jestes is the Cajuns all-time leading goal scorer and is second on the team this season with four scores. She is also tied for first in points and match winning goals.
Florida Atlantic comes into Thursday's contest after suffering two losses last weekend on the road at North Texas and Denver. Before an October 10 loss to Western Kentucky at home, the Owls had won four straight home matches.
The Cajuns are 3-2-0 all-time against Florida Atlantic, including a 2-0 shutout victory in Boca Raton last season. Live stats for Thursday night's match can be found at the above link.
After their match-up with FAU, Louisiana will have just two regular season matches remaining, with both coming at home. The first will take place on Sunday as the Cajuns host FIU in a game set to kick-off at 12:00 p.m.
-- Ragin' Cajuns --
