Soccer Opens Sun Belt Conference Play This Weekend

LAFAYETTE - The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns soccer team opens Sun Belt Conference play this weekend with two challenging opponents on the schedule beginning with a match against Georgia State at the Ragin' Cajuns Soccer/Track Facility.

First kick on Friday is scheduled for 7 p.m. Live statistics and a live video stream will be available at RaginCajuns.com. Louisiana (4-4) will wrap up the weekend on Sunday when they host Little Rock (5-3) on Sunday (Sept. 18) in a 1 p.m. match.

September is National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, and beginning this Thursday and continuing through the weekend, Sun Belt Conference women's soccer programs will wear specially designed warm up jerseys in support of Texas State head coach Kat Conner, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer last year.

Louisiana, which is 1-2 all-time against Georgia State (3-2-2), continues to rank among the top 15 in the nation in scoring offense, averaging 2.75 goals per match. The Cajuns have tallied 22 goals on the season.

"It's important to get out of the gates strong," head coach Scot Wieland said. "Your first weekend you don't want to start off in a hole. So, it's a matter of right now just staying focused on the things that we have improved upon the last five weeks."

The Cajuns rank tenth in the nation in total points with 63 and 15^th in assists with 19. Junior Ashleigh Cade ranks third in the nation in total assists with six while senior Mackenzie Higgins sits in third with eight goals scored.

Annika Schmidt has scored three goals on the season – two of them coming in the second half of Louisiana's win over SLU – while Haley Boroch, Yazmin Montoya and Carly Ellender have scored two goals each.

Sophomore goalkeeper Cosette Morche and freshman Mackenzie Lee have seen the majority of action in goal for the Ragin' Cajuns with Morche recording 19 saves on the season.

Georgia State won their only match last week, beating Southeastern Louisiana, 2-0. Georgia State won last season's meeting with Louisiana, 3-1, in Atlanta, Ga. on Sept. 27, 2015.

The Cajuns lead the all-time series against Little Rock, 11-4-1, and have defeated the Trojans in three of the last four meetings. In the most recent meeting, the two teams tied 1-1 in Little Rock, Ark. on Oct. 11, 2015.

"I think it will be a lot like last year's game," Wieland said. "I think offensively we are more dangerous. Last year, it was a physical game and we tied that game on the road. I expect that same kind of game this year. It just depends on who puts it in one goal more than the other. It will be a battle."

Soccer Opens Sun Belt Conference Play This Weekend

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Players Mentioned

Haley Boroch

Ashleigh Cade

Carly Ellender

Mackenzie Lee

Yazmin Montoya

Cosette Morche

Annika Schmidt

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