RUSTON – The Louisiana Tech soccer team finished the regular season on a high note, extending its home winning streak to eight with a 2-0 shutout victory over Southern Miss on a chilly Friday night at the Lady Techster Soccer Complex.
 
LA Tech (12-5-2, 5-3-2 C-USA) ended up winning all five of its conference home matches.  Coupled with a pair of draws on the road, the Lady Techsters finished with 17 league points which slots them securely into the No. 4 seed for the C-USA Tournament. 
 
It was a special celebration post-game for the four seniors – Makenna Johnson, Nomvula Kgoale, Courtney Tompkins and Mylene Roy-Ouellet.  During the game though, it was the foot of freshman Connor Barker that stole the show as she netted both goals on the night to help deliver the victory.
 
"I think it was appropriate that this was the best game of the season that we have played," head coach Kevin Sherry said.  "The opposition was fantastic.  That was a great game of soccer.  I am happy for the seniors to go out with a win at home.  Every single player gave 100 percent.
 
"We were limited with our striking options tonight, but Connor delivered a quality goal to put us on the scoreboard and another later on.  It is a huge achievement for us to qualify for the C-USA Tournament, now five years in a row.  We are peaking at the right time."
 
Both squads had stretches of long possession in the first period, but neither could find the back of the net through the first 45 minutes.
 
It was not until 61st minute when Barker struck for her first goal.  From midfield, junior Stella Li played the ball to Kgoale over on the right flank.  With space, she delivered a cross to the far post where a charging Barker boomed the one-touch finish into the right corner of the net to give LA Tech a 1-0 lead.
 
Five minutes later, Barker made it a 2-0 advantage on basically the same sequence.  Kgoale controlled the ball and sent a long ball to the left corner.  The man-marked defender fell down and Barker got to the ball before the opposing keeper, chipping it in from close range. 
 
It marked goals No. 5 and No. 6 on the season, tying for the team high.  It was also her second multi-goal performance, both coming in conference action.
 
The defense took care of the rest, recording their sixth shutout of the season, and helping take the eighth straight win over Southern Miss (11-5-1, 5-4-1 C-USA). 
 
The Golden Eagles held a 14-9 shot advantage in the match.  Barker led the way for the Lady Techsters with four shot attempts, playing in place of Roy-Ouellet at striker.
 
The other three seniors all went the distance, as well as sophomore Elizabeth Doll and midfielder Jaelyn Peeples who was awarded Team Player of the Year following the game.  Tompkins recorded three saves in the shutout, her second of the season.
 
LA Tech will now await its opponent which will be announced on Sunday.  The quarterfinals of the C-USA Tournament get underway on Wednesday, Oct. 31 in Norfolk, Va. 
 
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