Women's Soccer Opens RRAC Play in Loss to LSU-Shreveport

SHREVEPORT, LA. (Sept. 19, 2024) - The Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) women's soccer squad were outplayed 4-0 against LSU-Shreveport (LSUS) to open Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) play on Thursday. The Saints move to 1-2-1 overall and 0-1 in conference. The Pilots improve to 4-2 overall and 1-0 in the RRAC. 

Head Coach Lee Williams commented, "This was definitely a game of two halves today. We had opportunities to score in the first half, but we didn't capitalize on all the hard work we put in. Individual moments making the wrong decisions in the wrong areas led to the first goal. I love how positive this group was after a negative moment. We created a real positive opportunity. The momentum in the second half shifted and they were able to switch the ball more frequently and we had to cover a lot more groups and it hurt us. They really exploited our weak side. We have to learn and move on as it doesn't get any easier playing a top program on Saturday. We will learn and move our focus to Saturday's game."

The first half was competitive from both sides. The Saints had five shots with two on goal, while the Pilots recorded four shots with three on goal. LSUS took the lead at the 24th minute after a goal from Juliana Anchondo. The Saints had three corner kicks in the frame, including one taken by Lyndee Rheinberger a few minutes before halftime. Haven Ortiz led the team with two shots in the first half. Shreveport's offense continued to pressure in the second half. They grew the advantage to 2-0 with a goal from Gisell Jimenez 14 minutes into the final frame. Anchondo marked another goal at the 62nd minute and Jade Derks added the final goal nine minutes later. The Saints were shown four yellow cards. Samantha Valadez made 10 saves, which included stopping a penalty kick minutes after the fourth goal. The Saints fell 4-0 in the first RRAC matchup of the season. 

GAME LEADERS

• Haven Ortiz - 2 SOG/3 shots
• Kaitlyn Olivas - 2 SOG
• Samantha Valadez - 10 saves

TEAM STATS

• OLLU 8 shots/LSUS 20
• OLLU 5 SOG/LSUS 14
• OLLU 4 corners/LSUS 5
• OLLU 12 fouls/LSUS 8

What's next

The Saints continue conference play at Texas A&M University-Texarkana on Saturday at 1 p.m.