Louisiana Battles to Scoreless Draw in Home Opener

LAFAYETTE - Battling hot and humid conditions, the Louisiana soccer team fought to a 0-0 draw against Louisiana Tech in the team's home opener on Sunday at the Home Bank Soccer & Track Complex. The Cajuns pushed the action early with temperatures registering over 110+ degrees at kickoff.

"It was a stellar performance," said head coach Chris McBride. "We've been working a lot in the preseason and it's been hotter than this in training so I'm really, really grateful that we came into the game prepared. We were mentally sharp and physically sharp and I thought we started on the right foot and applied pressure early on. We attacked them where we wanted to attack them and had them on the back foot."

That early pressure showed up on the stat sheet, with the team recording 13 shots and eight shots on goal in the opening 45 minutes. Adeline Nemeth landed the first shot on goal with Lucy Ortiz following on the rebound but neither could put it in the back of the net. Minutes later the Cajuns had three shots on goal within a 20 second span, one by Megan Bradley and a pair by Sisley Stephens, but still couldn't find the back of the net.

"What's really encouraging is we created a variety of different types of chances tonight," said McBride. "It wasn't just one chance and we had a couple of good shots. I thought we've done well and that's something we'll look forward to is how to keep encouraging the different varieties of attacks to keep going forward."

While the offensive output slowed in the second half, the team was held to just eight shots, the defense had another terrific game. The Ragin' Cajuns held the visitors to seven shots total with none on goal.

"Our mentality has been really strong, we have just been wanting to win," said freshman Sydney Byrnes. "We've work hard all season and want to show it off and we think this will be a really good season for us. So we've been trying to bring a high-energy mentality and just work hard every day."

Byrnes was one of three Cajuns, all defenders, to play the entire 90 minutes on Sunday. A major point of emphasis in the offseason was for the team to come in physically fit. That's paid off as through two games they've outshot opponents 42-13 and have dominated shots on goal 21-4.

"We worked on fitness a lot and it's helped us come in fresh and ready," said Byrnes. "We have a lot of positivity with each other and build each other up. That helps you forget about playing in the heat. We've been working on our grit and you just gotta push through it."

The Cajuns continue their homestand on Thursday at 7 p.m. as they host Middle Tennessee.

FOLLOW THE CAJUNS
Fans are encouraged to stay engaged with the Ragin' Cajuns by downloading the #GeauxCajuns app. Click here for iOS/Apple platforms and here for Android platforms.

Follow the Ragin' Cajuns on Twitter (@RaginCajunsSoc), Facebook (Ragin' Cajuns Soc) or Instagram (@RaginCajunsSoc) to stay up-to-date on all that is happening with Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Soccer.

Louisiana Battles to Scoreless Draw in Home Opener

Next Event

Team Stats

Mariella Stephens

Lucy Ortiz

Sisley Stephens

Lily Parker

Players Mentioned

Megan Bradley

Sydney Byrnes

Adeline Nemeth

Lucy Ortiz

Sisley Stephens

Players Mentioned

Megan Bradley

Sydney Byrnes

Adeline Nemeth

Lucy Ortiz

Sisley Stephens

Footer

University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics