Louisiana Soccer Match 2 Preview: vs. South Alabama

FOLEY, Ala. – After posting a 2-0 victory over Abilene Christian to earn its first season-opening victory since 2014, the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Women's Soccer team heads to the beach when it faces defending Sun Belt Conference champion South Alabama on Sunday at the Foley Sports Complex.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m., with live stats available at CajunStats.com. The match against South Alabama (16-4-2 in 2019) will count as a non-conference contest. Fans will be allowed to attend the match at the Foley Sports Complex, but will be required to follow COVID safety guidelines by wearing a mask and maintaining social distancing.

Louisiana (1-0-0) scored a goal in each half against ACU to post its first win in a season-opener since a 1-0 victory over Sam Houston State on Aug. 22, 2014. Newcome Lizzie Mayfield scored a goal and added an assist in her Louisiana debut with senior captain Julianne DeBlieux collecting her second career goal.

Jordan Higgins collected four saves to post a shutout in her Louisiana debut.

South Alabama, the 2020 SBC Preseason favorite, opens its season looking to replace leading scorer Briana Morris (16 goals, 34 points) and reigning SBC Defensive Player of the Year Justice Stanford.

Should disruptions or modifications to the 2020 season occur due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Athletics will quickly communicate the adjustments through its social media channels and RaginCajuns.com. Additionally, the department will communicate any changes to specific entry and attendance protocols for home matches.

MATCH INFORMATION
LOUISIANA (1-0-0) vs. SOUTH ALABAMA (16-4-2 in 2019)
Date / Time: September 6, 2020 / 7 p.m.
Site: Foley, Ala.
Stadium: Foley Sports Complex (grass)

LIVE STATS
Live Stats: CajunStats.com
Twitter Updates: @RaginCajunsSOC
Hashtag: #GeauxCajuns

WEATHER FORECAST (via Weather.com)
Sunday: Partly cloudy | High: 92° | Winds: NE 7 mph | Rain: 10%
At kickoff: Partly cloudy | 83° | Wind: Calm | Rain: 5%

SERIES HISTORY
Overall: South Alabama leads, 10-4-7
At Lafayette: South Alabama leads, 6-1-3
At Mobile: Series tied, 3-3-4
At Neutral Sites: South Alabama leads, 1-0-0

JUST FOR KICKS ...
• The Ragin' Cajuns return 15 letterwinners from a squad that posted a 9-8-3 record in 2019 and reached the semifinals of the Sun Belt Conference Championships for the first time in school history.
• Louisiana will play nine of its first 11 matches during the 2020 season at the friendly confines of the Ragin' Cajuns Soccer/Track Facility.
• Louisiana clinched its first-winning season since 2014 when the Ragin' Cajuns posted a 9-8-2 record.
• Louisiana, which finished 9-8-3 in 2019, was picked to finish in a tie for fifth place in the 2020 Sun Belt Conference preseason poll which was voted on by the league's head coaches.
• The nine wins in 2019 by Louisiana under Lance Key were the most by a first-year coach in Ragin' Cajuns history, breaking the previous mark (4, Scot Wieland) in 2005.
• During the 2019 season, Louisiana posted a 5-1-1 record at home and allowed three goals all season.
• The five shutouts by Louisiana at home in 2019 tied the single-season record that was previously set by the 2010 squad.
• The 2-0 win over Abilene Christian improved Louisiana's season-opening record to 6-14-1.

BENDING THE BALL ...
• Louisiana's two goals scored against Abilene Christian equaled the most by the Ragin' Cajuns in a season-opener since a 2-1 win at McNeese State on Aug. 21, 2012.
• Lizzie Mayfield's three points (goal, assist) against Abilene Christian equaled the most by a Ragin' Cajun in a season-opener since Courtney Hofland's three points at Houston in 2006.
• Sophomore Gwen Mummert was named first-team All-Sun Belt Conference after the 2019 season, becoming the first Ragin' Cajuns defender to earn postseason honors since Grace Howell-Harries in 2014.
• Bedre and Skyla Skyes' three game-winning goals in 2019 were tied for the most in a single-season in school history, set eight times previously (last Annika Schmidt and Whitney Taggart in 2016).
• Louisiana's four wins during the month of September were one off the school record that was set four times (2012, 2015, 2016, 2017).

THROW-INS ...
• Gwen Mummert has started in all 39 career matches she has played in.
• Mummert joins Una Einarsdottir, Julianne DeBlieux and Ashley Newland as team captains for the 2020 season.
• The announced crowd of 563 against Abilene Christian on Friday was the second-largest in school history. The Ragin' Cajuns drew a school-record 663 fans against Northwestern State on Sept. 13, 2002.
• After missing the 2019 season due to injury, redshirt junior Grace Champagne played seven minutes as she returned to the field for the time since Oct. 21, 2018 against Georgia State.

SAVES AND CLEAN SHEETS ...
• Goalkeeper Jordan Higgins posted the first shutout in her Ragin' Cajuns debut since Alexias Stricklin stopped seven shots in a 1-0 win over Sam Houston State in 2014.
• Louisiana's eight shutouts in 2019 set a school record.
• Louisiana added three goalkeepers - junior college transfer Jordan Higgins and freshmen Carly Dean and Lauryn Starwood - to replace the tandem of Mackenzie Lee and Victoria Mendes.

RAGIN' CAJUNS ON "THE PLUS"
• Five Louisiana matches will be streamed live on ESPN+ beginning with the season-opener against Abilene Christian.
• Matches against Stephen F. Austin (Sept. 13), Texas State (Oct. 4), Little Rock (Oct. 9) and Central Arkansas (Oct. 11) will also be streamed during the 2020 season.

MEET THE NEWCOMERS
• Fourteen new faces are expected to see their first action for Louisiana during the 2020 season, highlighted by West Virginia transfer Lizzie Mayfield and junior college transfer Jordan Higgins.
• Newcomers Alyssa Abbott, Carly Dean, Caitlyn Ferguson, Hailey Hoffmann, Demi McCalliog, Abby Nowak, Lucy Ortiz, Mikayla Price, Mya Smith, Emily Sonnier, Katelyn Stamps and Lauryn Starwood are part of head coach Lance Key's first recruiting class at Louisiana.
• Mayfield, Higgins and Hoffmann each earned starts in Louisiana's debut while Abbott and Ortiz each came off the bench in the 2-0 win over ACU.

UP NEXT
• Louisiana returns home to face Southland Conference member Stephen F. Austin on Sunday, Sept. 13 at the Ragin' Cajuns Track/Soccer Facility. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. and will be streamed live on ESPN+.

THE NEW NORMAL ... FOR NOW
• Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sun Belt Conference has split the teams split into East and West Divisions with teams playing home-and-home against divisional opponents.
• Louisiana and the rest of the West Division programs (Arkansas State, Little Rock, ULM, Texas State) will play eight conference contests while the teams in the East (Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, South Alabama, Troy) will play 10.

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

Louisiana Soccer Match 2 Preview: vs. South Alabama

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Players Mentioned

Alyssa Abbott

Grace Champagne

Carly Dean

Julianne DeBlieux

Una Einarsdottir

Caitlyn Ferguson

Jordan Higgins

Hailey Hoffmann

Grace Howell-Harries

Mackenzie Lee

Lizzie Mayfield

Demi McCalliog

Victoria Mendes

Gwen Mummert

Ashley Newland

Abby Nowak

Lucy Ortiz

Mikayla Price

Annika Schmidt

Mya Smith

Emily Sonnier

Katelyn Stamps

Lauryn Starwood

Alexias Stricklin

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