RUSTON – The Louisiana Tech soccer team could not overcome two first-half goals by Northwestern State, falling 2-1 on Wednesday night at the Ruston Sports Complex in the spring opener.
 
LA Tech (2-2) dug itself an early hole, surrendering two goals in the first 25 minutes of action.  The Lady Techsters were able to get one back off the foot of Sophie Fijneman in the same period, but were not able to match NSU's (1-0) two scores for the remainder of the contest.
 
"We had a bad first half," said head coach Kevin Sherry.  "We changed some things in the second and improved our chances of scoring.  Proud of the fight the team put into the game, but sometimes you have to take one on the chin.  We learned many lessons that we can use moving forward.  Credit to NSU who took advantage of our mistakes."
 
The deficit came just seven minutes into the match when LA Tech was unable to clear the ball out of the back.  After blocking a few shot attempts by NSU, the ball found the foot of Olivia Draguicevich who made a sliding shot that deflected off the keeper's hand and into the net. 
 
Another defensive miscue in the 26th minute led to the second goal for the Lady Demons.  This time it was Draguicevich who dribbled up the left flank into the box.  She then crossed it to teammate Kalee Williams who had inside position on her defender and delivered the one-touch goal from six yards out.
 
It was less than three minutes later that the Lady Techsters were able to slice the deficit in half. 
 
It all started with a long ball to Klesha Darroux who gained possession in the midfield and dribbled all the way to the end line.  After her teammates pressed forward, she turned inside toward the box and crossed it.  A charging Fijneman then drilled a low liner from 20 yards out inside the left post.
 
The scoring chances were minimal for the rest of the match for LA Tech.  They did get two early opportunities in the second period by Josie Studer and Elizabeth Doll, one being a long strike from 30 yards away and the other a combination header off a free kick, but neither could equalize. 
 
After allowing the two goals, the Lady Techster defense did stand tall for the final 65 minutes, including late in the match when a defender had to clear the ball out before almost crossing the goal line for a third score. 
 
For Fijneman, it was her third career goal.  Including the fall matches, five different Lady Techsters have now scored in the 2020-21 season.
 
Christina Hjelvik (first half) and Katie Cook (second half) split time in goal.  Cook registered the lone save for LA Tech.  Anna Loftus and Alma Cedefors each had a team-leading two shots.
 
The Lady Techsters will now start a seven-game road stretch that gets underway on Sunday, Feb. 7 at 1 p.m. versus Texas Woman's.
 
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