Louisiana Soccer Hosts Marshall For Senior Night

LAFAYETTE – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Women's Soccer team looks to secure a berth in next week's Sun Belt Conference Championships when it hosts Marshall on Thursday in the regular-season finale for both teams at the Home Bank Soccer and Track Complex.

Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. Admission to all Ragin' Cajuns home soccer matches is free. Prior to the match, Louisiana will honor its 2023 Senior Class – Alyssa Abbott, Karleen Bedre, Gabby Felix and Mya Smith.

The match will be streamed live on ESPN+ with live stats available at CajunStats.com.

Louisiana (6-8-2, 3-6-0 SBC), which enters the match tied with Arkansas State for 10^th place in the league standings, can secure its 17^th all-time berth to the SBC postseason with a win over Marshall (7-8-1, 2-7-0 SBC). The Ragin' Cajuns, with nine points (3 points for a SBC win) in league matches this season claimed the tie-breaker and No. 10 seed over the Red Wolves by virtue of a 3-1 win on Oct. 19.

The top 10 teams in the SBC regular-season standings will advance to the SBC Championships, scheduled for Oct. 30-Nov. 5 in Foley, Ala.

Megan Bradley (4 goals, 9 points) leads Louisiana in scoring during the 2023 season with Emma Bates, Sisley Stephens and Briana Henry following with five points each (2 goals, 1 assist). Alyssa Abbott, Mariella Stephens and Mary Mueth each lead the team with two assists while Lauren Bennett (1,339 minutes), Hailly Waterhouse (1,214) and Mariella Stephens (1,099) are the top players in minutes played.

The meeting with Marshall is the first-ever between the schools in soccer.

Marshall claimed a 1-0 win over Coastal Carolina on Sunday behind Bailey Fisher's team-leading seventh goal of the season. Marshall freshman goalkeeper Ashlyn Drayer pitched her first shutout of the season in the win and has made 41 saves during the 2023 season.

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

MATCH INFORMATION
LOUISIANA (6-8-2, 3-6-0 SBC) vs. MARSHALL (7-8-1, 2-7-0 SBC)
Date / Time: October 26, 2023/ 6 p.m. CT
Site: Lafayette, La.
Stadium: Home Bank Soccer and Track Complex (Grass)

THE COACHES
LOUISIANA
Head Coach: Chris McBride
Record at Louisiana: 9-17-7 (second season); Overall Record: 40-59-22 (seventh season)

MARSHALL
Head Coach: Michael Swan
Record at Marshall: 17-36-8 (fourth season); Overall Record: 57-68-12 (eighth season)

VIDEO/LIVE STATS/SOCIAL UPDATES
Live Video Stream: ESPN+
Live Stats: CajunStats.com
Twitter Updates: @RaginCajunsSOC
Hashtag: #GeauxCajuns

SERIES HISTORY
First meeting

SET PIECES
• Louisiana looks to earn its 17th overall berth in the Sun Belt Conference Championships as it faces Marshall in the regular-season finale for both teams.
• The Ragin' Cajuns will earn a berth in next week's championships with a win or a tie (coupled with an Arkansas State tie or loss at South Alabama).
• Prior to Thursday's match, Louisiana will honor its senior class - Alyssa Abbott, Karleen Bedre, Gabby Felix, Mya Smith.
• Louisiana and Marshall meet for the first time on the soccer pitch with the Thundering Herd becoming the 70th different opponent the Ragin' Cajuns have faced in school history.
• Louisiana's RPI (129) as of Oct. 22 is the best in school history and ranks eighth among the SBC's 14 teams.
• Louisiana enters the match second in the Sun Belt Conference in saves per match (5.69).
• Thirteen of Louisiana's 17 goals in 2023 have been scored by either freshmen or sophomore with 11 scored by reserves.
• Eleven players on the roster have scored at least one goal in 2023.
• Super Senior Karleen Bedre scored her first goal of the season against A-State and became the fifth player in school history to reach the 20-goal mark in her career.
• Bedre enters the match ranked as the school all-time leader in matches played (92) and matches started (85).
• Bedre is third all-time in points (58), tied for fourth in goals scored (20), second in assists (18), tied for second in match-winning goals (6) and tied for fifth in penalty kicks made (2).
• Bedre is second among active SBC players in goals (20), assists (18) and points (58).
• Six position players - Lauren Bennett (1,339), Hailly Waterhouse (1,214), Mariella Stephens (1,099), Tatum Beck (886), Sisley Stephens (871) and Karleen Bedre (863) - have logged more than 800 minutes on the pitch through the first 15 matches.

BY THE NUMBERS
1 – Goals needed by Karleen Bedre to move into a tie for third in school history.
2 - Points needed by Karleen Bedre to move into second place in school history.
2 – Sets of sisters on the 2022 squad - Mariella Stephens and Sisley Stephens; Gabi Placke and Sophie Placke.
5 – Total of Hat Tricks recorded in Ragin' Cajuns history.
8 – Goals allowed in the first half by Louisiana on the season (out of 26 total).
11 – Players who have scored at least one goal in 2023.
11 – Goals scored by reserves in the 2023 season.
13 – Goals scored for Louisiana in 2023 by either freshmen or sophomores.
21 – Number of players who have logged over 200-plus minutes during the 2023 season.
34 – Multi-goal matches recorded in school history – the latest by Megan Bradley (at FIU, 9/3).

UP NEXT
• A win for Louisiana would send them to the Sun Belt Conference Championships in Foley, Ala., for the first time since 2021 and 17th time overall.
• The Ragin' Cajuns would open play on Monday (Oct. 30) as either the No. 9 or 10 seed.

MAYES STEPS IN FOR GARCIA
• With the loss of Makenna Garcia due to injury in Louisiana's Oct. 8 match against Southern Miss, freshman Natalie Mayes has been the fixture at goalkeeper for the Ragin' Cajuns.
• Mayes, who split time with Garcia during the exhibition season and the season-opener at Middle Tennessee, has started the past three matches for Louisiana and has posted a 1-2-1 record with a 1.88 goals against average.
• She earned the win over Arkansas State on Oct. 19 and saved a season-best eight shots on Oct. 15 at South Alabama.

BRADLEY WITH THE BRACE
• Splitting time as a starter and reserve, sophomore Megan Bradley has been Louisiana's top offensive threat in 2023, leading the team in points (9) and goals scored (4).
• Bradley has been efficient for the Ragin' Cajuns with four of her nine shots on the season finding the back of the net.
• In Louisiana's 2-2 draw at FIU on Sept. 3, Bradley recorded the 34th brace in school history and has added goals against South Florida and Arkansas State.

Louisiana Soccer Hosts Marshall For Senior Night

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Alyssa Abbott

Emma Bates

Tatum Beck

Karleen Bedre

Lauren Bennett

Megan Bradley

Gabby Felix

Makenna Garcia

Briana Henry

Natalie Mayes

Mary Mueth

Gabi Placke

Sophie Placke

Mya Smith

Mariella Stephens

Sisley Stephens

Hailly Waterhouse

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