Lady Jaguars fall short

Louisiana rivals, Louisiana Tech (5-0-1) and the Southern University Jaguars (0-4) combated at A.W. Mumford Stadium, but Tech came out on top to defend their streak in a dogfight victory 2-1.
At the beginning of the season, the Jaguars have been halted by unsettling news, injuries, and most of all the, weather. Louisiana’s incumbent hurricane season has arrived and is sending constant random showers to the home turf.
Earlier on September 6, the field was soaked by the showers and created semi-potholes in which the soccer ball would get stuck in, which disgruntled the Lady Jags and set them back on strategy.
Last season during their visit to Ruston, La, the Lady Jags suffered a 0-5 loss and vengeance was on the minds of the returning players but with a slightly altered roster. Not all players knew of the hunger for the win or the casualty of a brutal loss in state.
It was certainly known of the talent that undefeated Tech offered, and in likely fashion, in the first period, defender Taylor Dennis scored the first goal.
After the first goal was successful, ball control by the Lady Jags was nill to none and six more shots by Tech was aimed towards senior goalie, Sarah Forde. Luckily she held her own because in the entire game she had six saves. Due to the rain, offensive and defensive maneuvers were difficult.
Closing the first period, Tech relinquished a large portion of their squad when eight players were subbed out.
At the clutch, the referee called off-sides on Tech and with chasing a decision, in 11 seconds they scored another point.
On the Lady Jags side, the coaching staff was furious at the call that was made and tried to challenge the play with officials. Upset at the tide of the decision, Head Coach Courtnie Prather accepted the call and the scored stood at 2-0.
“At the end of the day no matter how we feel, the girls know to play to the whistle, and we were a little frazzled on how they lifted the flag and we stopped for a second and that’s how they were about to get the ball in,” said Prather.
After that goal, it wasn’t long before the senior midfielder Fabiola Parra scored the first goal for the Lady Jags and opened up a stake of competition between the two teams. These goal attempts did not go without consequences because the spirit of soccer does not go without contact. Bodies were smashing into each other, shirts being pulled, with slides being enacted as calamity surrounded the field.
In the second half alone, the Lady Jags were charged with nine fouls and the struggle for points was imminent.
Tech came through with seven shots and the Lady Jags had only three shots in the second period.
Prather wasn’t on the fact that the team lost, but that the young team practiced during the spring and summer to build up discipline because that would carry them to the distance.
“Even though we didn’t get the result on the scoreboard, we got a result on how we want to play and stay disciplined on what we want to do, so this is a positive step in the right direction,” said Prather.