Little Rock – Two first half goals from Louisiana proved to be too much for UALR to overcome as Little Rock (1-4, 1-2 Sun Belt) dropped a 2-0 decision to the Ragin Cajuns (6-3, 3-2 Sun Belt).
Despite an active Trojan squad producing several opportunities, they were ultimately unable to follow through on those chances.
“I thought we were the better team especially in the second half but it’s just not going our way at the minute,” said UALR head coach Mark Foster. “The challenge is for the girls to keep their head up, rebound and come back and make sure the next one goes our way.”
“The soccer’s been brilliant this season,” he added. “We’ve seen some really good passes and moving, some great build-up play through the thirds, and the team is coming together to create lots of opportunities.”
The closest chance for Little Rock came early in the second half, as the Trojans came out of the halftime break visibly firing on all cylinders.
However, once again the woodwork was not in favor of the Trojans as Peyton Laughley – Little Rock’s offensive leader of the night with two of her six shots on target – made an attempt from the right side that hit high on the top crossbar.
“I lost count of how many opportunities we had,” said Coach Foster. “But we’ve got to make our own luck. We can’t be feeling sorry for ourselves. The harsh reality of soccer is they had a couple of chances and took theirs, and we weren’t able to take ours. It shows how cruel the game can be and how clinical it can be. It’s no good saying we dominated possession if we didn’t score.”
The Ragin’ Cajuns netted both of their goals in the first half, giving Little Rock a large mountain to climb in order to get back in the game.
In addition, Louisiana’s freshman goalkeeper Lauryn Starwood was a notable obstacle for the Trojans this evening, grabbing a game-high eight saves. Her agility beat some of the Trojans out when the home team was able to break through the Cajuns’ defense and get in range.
Louisiana’s Gwen Mummert scored the first Ragin Cajun goal in the 26th minute after the second of back-to-back Louisiana corner kicks. The ball soared into the center, bouncing to a fellow Cajun just outside the inner box and then Mummert powered the ball into the lower left corner of the goal.
With a minute to go in the first half, one of the Louisiana forward Grace Champagne was able to shake off the defense to center her pass and set up Lizzie Mayfield for a lobbed arc from fifteen yards out that curved up and over the Trojan defenders and into the right side of the net.
Little Rock returns home to the Coleman Sports Complex on Thursday when they host undefeated Arkansas State (7-0, 6-0 Sun Belt).
Faulkner County Focus Sports 