Aug. 23, 2012
Game 3 - Southern Miss 
RUSTON - With Louisiana Tech's move from the WAC to CUSA still a year away, the Lady Techsters soccer team has already begun what could wind up being a conference rivalry with future mate Southern Miss.
For the second consecutive year, Tech will face off against the Golden Eagles set to be played tomorrow at 11 a.m. This will be the third overall meeting between the two schools with Southern Miss leading the series 1-0-1, but this will be the first ever meeting played in Ruston at the Lady Techster Soccer Complex.
Last year's match in Hattiesburg, Miss. ended in a scoreless draw as Tech was unable to convert on several scoring opportunities, including two strikes that hit the crossbar. With Southern Miss returning 19 letter winners from a year ago, Lady Techsters head coach Kevin Sherry has a good idea of who they'll be facing on the field.
"Coaches tend to have common aspects to their style of play," said Sherry. "We know from last year that Southern Miss will be organized, physically tough and will play a high-tempo style of game. We have been working on how to break down such a style."
It is often said that the biggest improvement a coach sees in his players is from game one to game two. Coach Sherry expects to see just that with his young squad still in the early team-chemistry stages.
"We saw areas of our play which needed our attention during the LSU-Shreveport game and the team has been working hard to make those improvements," said Sherry. "Each game shows us what is working well and what needs working on during practice that week. If we get a positive result on Friday, this will provide the team with a lot of confidence.
Another key component to tomorrow's contest will be Tech's goalkeeper Caitlin Updyke. Having already broken the program record for most shutouts in a career, currently with 16, she needs only three more saves to pass former Lady Techster goalkeeper Cat Buchanan as the career leader in saves.
Louisiana Tech looks to start the season 2-0 for only the third time in school history.
LA Tech All-Access subscribers can listen to and watch a live video stream of the game by logging on through www.LATechSports.com, the official website of Louisiana Tech Athletics. Live stats will be available through the link provided on the schedule page. Twitter users can get updates of the game as well by following @LaTechSOC.
