Louisiana picks up its first Sun Belt win of the season on Lauren Schwindt's goal

MIAMI - Lauren Schwindt gained possession of a Lindsay Webb free kick and promptly one-timed a volley past Florida International goalkeeper Juliana Gomez for the match-winner in the 27th minute as Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns women's soccer team claimed a 1-0 victory over FIU here Sunday afternoon at University Park.

Webb, taking the free kick from 35 yards out, sent the ball inside the box about 15 yards from the goal. That's where Schwindt ran to the ball and quickly split the FIU defenders by hammering the ball into the back of the net for the lone goal of the match at the 27:38 mark.

The goal was Schwindt's second of the season and her young career and helped the Ragin' Cajuns (5-7-1, 1-1 Sun Belt) snap a six-match winless and four-match losing streak.

The win was UL's first since a 1-0 overtime win over UL Monroe on Sept. 14.

The win also marked the first in the all-time series between the two teams for Louisiana, but more importantly got the Cajuns into the win column in conference play.

Louisiana goalkeeper Liza Preseault evened her season record at 3-3 and collected her first solo shutout of the season. The Bradenton, Fla., native made three saves.

"We worked real hard defensively as a unit," said UL Lafayette coach Dave Poggi. "Liza (Preseault) made a couple of big saves at critical junctures, but as a group we all fought to the end."

"I thought the key to our success today was being able to win the ball in the midfield," Poggi said. "Lauren (Schwindt) and Meredith (Smith) worked real hard keep the ball for us and as a result we were able to create good chances."

The Golden Panthers (1-10, 0-4 Sun Belt) put the Louisiana defense under a lot of pressure but were unable to find a way to score.


Janet Ligouri came close to opening the scoring for FIU at 13:01 only to have her shot strike the bottom of the left post. Tamara Kochen also had Louisiana-Lafayette goalkeeper Liza Preseault beaten, but her effort at 36:31 hit the crossbar.

"It's good to get a conference win," Poggi added. "They were unlucky and hit the post a couple of times and it could have gone either way. We made our luck today by how hard we worked."

Louisiana returns to action Friday, Oct. 17 in a 7 p.m. match against
Arkansas State at Cajun Field.

MATCH SUMMARY
Louisiana at Florida International
Date: Sunday, Oct. 12, 2003
Site: Miami, Fla. (University Park)
Attendance: 137

Goals by period 1 2 Total
Louisiana (5-7-1, 1-1 SBC) 1 0 1
FIU (1-10, 0-4 SBC) 0 0 0

SCORING SUMMARY:
1. 27:38 ULL Schwindt, Lauren (Webb, Lindsay)

Shots: Louisiana 5, FIU 9
Shots on Goal: Louisiana 3, FIU 3
Saves: Louisiana 3 (Preseault), FIU 2 (Gomez)
Fouls: Louisiana 7, FIU 4
Corner Kicks: Louisiana 3, FIU 1
Cautions: Louisiana 0, FIU 1 (Patrick, Valarie; 55:37)
Offsides: Louisiana 1, FIU 1

LOUISIANA SI