Aug. 23, 2011
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SHREVEPORT, La. - The Louisiana Tech soccer team downed LSU-Shreveport 7-0 on a hot Tuesday afternoon at The Swamp. This was the third straight game that the Lady Techsters have shutout their opponent. The school record for most consecutive scoreless games is four, which occurred in the 2005 and 2008 seasons.
Tech improves to 2-0-1 on the year while the Lady Pilots fall to 0-1-0 overall.
Six different players scored for LA Tech, lead by sophomore Emily Brennan's (Plano, Texas) two goals. Starting the scoring was junior Mo Rockwell (Salt Lake City, Utah) early in the 19th minute on a centering pass from senior Scotti Culton (Waterloo, Ill.). Senior Olivia Lukasewich (Woodbridge, Ontario) gave the Lady Techsters a two goal lead in the 43rd minute on a shot from 18 yards out after receiving a pass from Brennan and dribbling through the defense.
In the 51st minute, Culton got the ball past the goalkeeper from five yard away to give Tech a 3-0 lead. Freshman Natalie Kelly (Waxahachie, Texas) scored her first collegiate goal off a rebound when she blasted the ball from 20 yards out into the top right corner of the net in the 58th minute.
The scoring continued late in the 64th minute when freshman Ashton Burch (Monore, La.) was able to flick a cross into the goal from Rockwell for a 5-0 advantage. Brennan scored her first goal of the game when she received a pass from sophomore Taylor Dennis (Albuquerque, N.M.) and was able to pop the ball just over the goalie's head and into the net for a six goal lead during the 71st minute.
The second goal from Brennan, and final score of the game, occurred when she was able to beat the defense to the ball after a long pass from senior Rachel King (O'Fallon, Mo.) and beat the keeper from close range in the 89th minute. King's assist gave her 75 points for her career and broke a tie with former teammate Kiva Gresham for the most career points in Lady Techster history.
All three goalkeepers saw action in the game with sophomore and recently named Verizon WAC Defensive Player of the Week Caitlin Updyke (Broomfield, Colo.) played the first half to pick up the win. Updyke now has 16 career wins, placing her one behind teammate senior Cat Buchanan (Shawnee, Kan.).
Starting the second half in net was Buchanan who stopped the only shot that the Tech defense gave up all game. Freshman Rebecca Alvarez (El Paso, Texas) saw action for the first time in career after redshirting in 2010. She played the final 10:38 of the game and the Lady Techster fans cheered as she handled the ball for the first time in the 88th minute.
LA Tech outshot LSUS 34-1 with Brennan leading the way with six shots, two of them on goal. Culton and Lukasewich had the most shots on goal with three apiece.
For the Lady Pilots, Shay Wells had 11 saves and Kim Phelps took the only shot.
While winning the game was the ultimate goal, the most important part of the match was getting freshmen playing time.
"This game was not just about getting a win," said head coach Kevin Sherry. "The most important part was getting freshman some experience on the field."
The Lady Techsters return to action on Friday with a 7 p.m. kickoff at McNeese State. The next home game is Sunday at 1 p.m. when Tech hosts Troy at Lady Techster Soccer Complex.
For complete coverage of Lady Techster Soccer, visit the official home of Louisiana Tech Athletics at LATechSports.com and follow sports information contact, Phillip Pongratz, on Twitter, www.twitter.com/LATechPPongratz, for the latest and most current news.
