Ragin' Cajuns Face Bobcats In SBC Soccer Championships

FOLEY, Ala. – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Women's Soccer team returns to the Sun Belt Conference Championships for the 17^th time when it faces No. 8-seeded Texas State on Monday in a first round contest at the Foley Sports Tourism Complex.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+ with live stats available at CajunStats.com. The winner of Monday's contest will advance to face top-seeded South Alabama on Wednesday at 4 p.m.

Louisiana (7-8-2), the No. 9 seed in the field, earned its spot in the postseason after a thrilling 1-0 win over Marshall last Thursday. Hailly Waterhouse's goal in the 75^th minute proved to be the difference while freshman goalkeeper Natalie Mayes posted 10 saves to record her first career collegiate shutout.

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). Freshman Mary Mueth recorded her team-leading third assist of the season in Thursday's victory while Lauren Bennett (1,429 minutes), Waterhouse (1,304) and Mariella Stephens (1,170) are the top players in minutes played.

Texas State (8-6-4) ended the regular season in a dramatic 3-3 draw against Southern Miss with Chloe Jones scoring the equalizer with one second left on the clock. It was the latest goal scored by a TXST player in regulation in team history. Also finding the back of the net in the first half was senior Mya Ulloa and Olivia Wright.

Olivia Wright has scored a team-high six goals and 15 points for the Bobcats with the trio of Zoe Junior, Victoria Meza and Mady Soumare scoring three goals each.

Caitlyn Draper has started the last 11 matches in goal where she has recorded a 1.26 with 54 saves and a .771 save percentage. Her five shutouts are the second most by a Texas State freshman goalkeeper.

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MATCH INFORMATION
LOUISIANA (7-8-2) vs. TEXAS STATE (8-6-4)
Date / Time: October 30, 2023/ 7 p.m.
Site: Foley, Ala.
Stadium: Foley Sports Tourism Complex (Grass)

THE COACHES
LOUISIANA
Head Coach: Chris McBride
Record at Louisiana: 10-17-7 (second season); Overall Record: 41-59-22 (seventh season)

TEXAS STATE
Head Coach: Steve Holeman
Record at TXST: 20-11-6 (second season); Overall Record: 304-218-56 (29^th season)

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

SERIES HISTORY
Overall: Texas State leads, 10-2-1
At Lafayette: Texas State leads, 4-2-1
At San Marcos: Texas State leads, 6-0-0
Neutral Sites: First meeting
Streak: Texas State +2

SET PIECES
• Louisiana makes its 17th appearance in the Sun Belt Conference Championships when it faces Texas State in a first round match.
• The Ragin' Cajuns return to the SBC postseason for the first time since 2021.
• Louisiana reached the semifinals for the first time in both 2019 and 2020 after going 0-15 in school history.
• Louisiana and Texas State meet for the 15th time on the pitch and first in the post season.
• 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 (5.94) and 35th nationally.
• Thirteen of Louisiana's 18 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 (93) and matches started (86).
• 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 (1,429), Hailly Waterhouse (1,304), Mariella Stephens (1,170), Tatum Beck (926), Sisley Stephens (917), Karleen Bedre (920) and Cassandra Decombe (831) - have logged more than 800 minutes on the pitch through the regular season.

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 and Sisley Stephens; Gabi 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.

UP NEXT
• The winner of Monday's match will advance to face top-seeded South Alabama on Wednesday at 4 p.m. on Wednesday.

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 four matches for Louisiana and has posted a 2-2-1 record with a 1.56 goals against average.
• She posted her first clean sheet in the regular-season finale against Marshall, stopping 10 shots and helping Louisiana earn a spot in the Sun Belt Conference Championships.

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.

AN INTERNATIONAL FLAIR FOR 2023
• Six players on the 2023 Louisiana roster, hailing from five countries, bring an international experience to the table.
• Five returning players - Emma Bates, Cassandra Décombe, Laura Hansen, Megan Bradley and Alex Folchert - are joined by newcomer Briana Henry.

Australia – Emma Bates
Canada – Cassandra Décombe, Briana Henry
Denmark – Laura Hansen
England – Megan Bradley
Spain – Alex Folchert

Ragin' Cajuns Face Bobcats In SBC Soccer Championships

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Players Mentioned

Emma Bates

Tatum Beck

Karleen Bedre

Lauren Bennett

Megan Bradley

Alex Folchert

Makenna Garcia

Laura Hansen

Briana Henry

Natalie Mayes

Mary Mueth

Sophie Placke

Mariella Stephens

Sisley Stephens

Hailly Waterhouse

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