@RaginCajunsSOC Match 12 Preview: vs. Appalachian State

LAFAYETTE – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Women's Soccer team returns to the friendly confines on Friday when it plays host to Appalachian State in a Sun Belt Conference match at the Ragin' Cajuns Soccer/Track Complex.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Live video will be available at RaginCajuns.com/Live with live stats available at CajunStats.com. Admission to all Ragin' Cajuns soccer matches is free with fan-friendly concessions provided.

Children in the Lafayette area are encouraged to attend for Kid's Day. All kids attending will be able to participate in a mini-scrimmage at halftime and get post-match autographs. Fun jumps and inflatables will also be available.

Louisiana (4-4-3, 0-1-2 Sun Belt) returns to action for the first time since drawing a 1-1 tie at Little Rock on Sunday. Telly Vunipola's goal in the 84^th minute was the equalizer for the Ragin' Cajuns, who recorded their third straight 1-1 decision in matches played in Little Rock.

Six players have scored multiple goals for the Ragin' Cajuns in 2019 with Karleen Bedre and Skyla Sykes recording a team-high three goals each.

Vunipola, Una Einarsdottir, Gwen Mummert and Katherine Whitman have scored two goals each for Louisiana with Mackenzie Lee entering the week fifth in the Sun Belt in saves (38), seventh in saves per game (3.45) and tied for second in shutouts (2).

MATCH INFORMATION
LOUISIANA (4-4-3, 0-1-2 Sun Belt) vs. APPALACHIAN STATE (4-5-2, 1-1-1 Sun Belt)
Date/Time: October 4, 2019 / 7 p.m.
Site: Lafayette, La.
Facility (Surface): Ragin' Cajuns Soccer/Track Complex (grass)

LIVE STATS/SOCIAL MEDIA
Live Stats: CajunStats.com
Live Video: RaginCajuns.com/Live
Twitter Updates: @RaginCajunsSOC | #GeauxCajuns

WEATHER FORECAST (via Weather.com)
Sunday: Partly cloudy | High: 93° | Winds: NNE 6 mph | Rain: 20%
At kickoff: Partly cloudy | 83° | Wind: NNE 4 mph | Rain: 20%

SERIES HISTORY
Series Record: App State leads, 5-1
At Lafayette: App State leads, 2-0
At Boone: App State leads, 2-1
At Neutral: App State leads, 1-0
Last Meeting: App State, 1-0 (10/7/2018 at Boone)

THE COACHES
LOUISIANA
Head Coach: Lance Key (Trinity, 2000)
Record at Louisiana: 4-4-3 (first season), Career Record: 214-25-19 (13th season)

APPALACHIAN STATE
Head Coach: Sarah Strickland (George Mason, 1998)
Record at ASU: 74-84-27 (10th season), Career Record: Same

JUST FOR KICKS ...
• Louisiana, playing its 20th season of intercollegiate soccer, opens the final month of the season with a pair of home matches beginning on Friday against Appalachian State.
• The Ragin' Cajuns will close out the weekend on Sunday against Coastal Carolina in a 1 p.m. CT contest.
• Louisiana is tied for second in the Sun Belt Conference in shots (136), fourth in assists (15), fifth in goals scored (16) and fifth in points (47).
• The Ragin' Cajuns are tied for third in the league in shutouts (4) and rank fourth in the Sun Belt in corner kicks (55).
• Louisiana's four wins during the month of September were one off the school record that was set four times (2012, 2015, 2016, 2017).
• Louisiana posted a 4-2-2 record during the month of September.
• Six players (Karleen Bedre, Skyla Sykes, Una Einarsdottir, Telly Vunipola, Gwen Mummert and Katherine Whitman) have scored multiple goals for the Ragin' Cajuns in 2019.

THROW-INS ...
• Louisiana's four-match win streak last month was its longest since victories against ULM (2-0), Little Rock (2-1), Arkansas State (1-0) and Texas State (5-2) from Oct. 6-18, 2013.
• Louisiana has opened the 2019 season with three consecutive shutouts at home for the first time since 2004 (defeated Louisiana Tech, Mississippi Valley and Nicholls State).
• Louisiana's 2-1 win at Sam Houston State on Sept. 8 was its first double overtime road victory since a 3-2 victory at Troy on Sept. 25, 2016.
• Gwen Mummert has started in all 28 career matches she has played in.
• Mummert was named the Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 24 - the first Ragin' Cajun to earn SBC weekly honors since 2017 and the first to claim Defensive Player of the Week honors since Grace Howell-Harries in 2013.
• Skyla Sykes two game-winning goals in 2019 are one off the school record, set eight times previously (last Annika Schmidt and Whitney Taggart in 2016).
• Freshman Karleen Bedre's four assists in 2019 is tied for the 10th-most in a single-season in school history.
• The two assists by freshman Rachel Sutter against Northern Illinois on Aug. 30 is tied for second-most by a Sun Belt Conference player in 2019.
• Rainey Niles' goal against Northwestern State on Sept. 15 was the first of her career.

SAVES AND CLEAN SHEETS ...
• Senior Mackenzie Lee recorded four saves against Little Rock on Sept. 29 to increase her career total to 146 and move past Anne Corbello (144) into sixth place on the school's all-time list
• The shutout of South Alabama on Sept. 22 was the seventh for Mackenzie Lee in her career, moving her past Cosette Morche (2015-16) into sole possession of fourth-place on the all-time list.
• With 12 career victories between the posts, Lee moved into a tie with Morche for fourth place on the Ragin' Cajuns all-time list.

AWAY FROM THE FRIENDLY CONFINES
• Eleven of Louisiana's 18 regular-season matches are being played away from the Ragin' Cajuns Soccer/Track Complex, including six of the first seven matches.
• The opening stretch of matches in 2019 marks the first time since 2008 that Louisiana will play one home match in its first seven contests of the season.
• The 2008 squad opened the season at home against Southeastern Louisiana before playing its next seven on the road.

THE KEY TO WINNING
• In 12 seasons as head coach at Trinity University (Texas), Lance Key won 88.3 percent of his matches, compiling a 210-21-16 in the process.
• His .883 winning percentage is third-best all-time among NCAA Division I, II or III head coaches and ranking behind Scott Frey (Messiah) and Anson Dorrance (North Carolina).

Name (School) - Pct. (Record)
Scott Frey (Messiah) - .920 (399-23-26)
Anson Dorrance (North Carolina) - .902 (847-74-40)
Lance Key (Louisiana) - .883 (210-21-16)
Marcus Wood (Hardin-Simmons) - .877 (348-37-28)
Joe Russo (TCNJ) - .863 (518-64-43)

CAJUNS IN THE SUN BELT
• As a team, Louisiana is tied second in the Sun Belt Conference in shots (136).
• The Ragin' Cajuns are fifth in points (47), goals scored (15) and goals per game (1.45).
• Freshman Karleen Bedre is tied for 10th in the league in goals scored (3) and tied for seventh in assists (4).
• Skyla Sykes is tied for fourth in the SBC in game-winning goals (2).
• Mackenzie Lee enters the week fifth in the Sun Belt in saves (38), seventh in saves per game (3.45) and tied for second in shutouts (2).
• In Sun Belt Conference matches, Lee has posted a 0.58 goals against average to rank fifth among SBC goalkeepers and is tied for third with 11 saves.

CAJUNS TO BE SEEN ON CST/ESPN+
• Three of Louisiana's six home matches during the 2019 season will be available to nearly five millions homes with live coverage on New Orleans-based Cox Sports Television (CST).
• Matches against South Alabama (LIVE - Sept. 22), Georgia Southern (tape-delayed - Oct. 25) and Troy (LIVE - Oct. 27) will be televised and will be also available on ESPN+.
• Louisiana's other home matches - Southern (Sept. 5), Appalachian State (Oct. 4) and Coastal Carolina (Oct. 6) will be streamed live on the Ragin' Cajuns Digital Network.

UP NEXT
• Louisiana opens the final month of the season on Friday, Oct. 4, when it hosts Appalachian State for Kid's Day at the Ragin' Cajuns Soccer/Track Complex.
• Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
• The Ragin' Cajuns will close out their two-match homestand on Sunday, Oct. 6, against Coastal Carolina in a 1 p.m. contest.

FOLLOW THE RAGIN' CAJUNS
Follow the Ragin' Cajuns on Facebook (Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Soccer), Twitter (@RaginCajunsSOC) and Instagram (@RaginCajuns_SOC), or check RaginCajuns.com for Louisiana soccer updates.

@RaginCajunsSOC Match 12 Preview: vs. Appalachian State

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Players Mentioned

Karleen Bedre

Una Einarsdottir

Grace Howell-Harries

Mackenzie Lee

Gwen Mummert

Rainey Niles

Annika Schmidt

Rachel Sutter

Skyla Sykes

Telly Vunipola

Katherine Whitman

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