HATTIESBURG, Miss.?Louisiana Tech closed out its exhibition season on Saturday with a 2-0 loss at Southern Miss. Tech finishes the preseason at 1-2 and will look to rebound as the regular season begins on Friday.

The start of Saturday?s game was delayed by an hour by heavy thunderstorms in the Hattiesburg area. After the teams battled through rain for most of the first half, the sun came out just before halftime, and the conditions became much the same as they have been for the last several weeks ? hot and humid.

?We played soccer the way it should be played today,? head coach Kevin Sherry said. ?We?ve still got a long way to go, but we took a huge step up that mountain. We are still trying to change the culture of the soccer program at Louisiana Tech, and it won?t happen overnight. But we are gradually getting things to where we can have some success.?

Neither team could get much offense going in the first half in the sloppy conditions, but Southern Miss took advantage of its few opportunities. In the 11th minute, several Tech defenders were unable to gain their footing in the box, and USM sophomore Sarah McFadden ? the Golden Eagles? leading scorer in 2006 ? knocked home an uncontested shot to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead at 10:58.

Later in the half, Daniela Picado got past the Tech defense again but was fouled just inside the box, giving the Eagles a penalty shot. McFadden was able to connect once again, and Southern Miss took a 2-0 lead to the half.

?One of their goals was a giveaway in a dangerous area, and we were caught out of position on the other and ended up giving up the penalty kick,? Sherry said. ?We just didn?t have our run of the luck today. A bounce here and there, and we could have won just as easily.?

Neither team was able to generate much offense in the second half, but both teams had a couple of good looks at the net. Freshman Kiva Gresham had the best opportunity for Tech in the 67th minute, but her attempt went just wide right.

Tech begins its regular season on Friday at the LSU Classic in Baton Rouge. The Lady Techsters will square off with Furman, and kick-off is set for 4 p.m at the LSU Soccer Complex.