RUSTON – The scoring woes went away for Louisiana Tech on Friday night as the Lady Techsters notched three goals in the first half and one in the second to shutout Sam Houston, 4-0, at Robert Mack Caruthers Field.
 
LA Tech (3-3-1), playing its first home match in three weeks, came into the match having been shutout in three straight contests.  The dam broke quickly in the 9th minute when Anna Loftus took a free kick from 25 yards out and bent it inside the left post.
 
Loftus would take another free kick in the 27th minute, this one from midfield.  She sent the ball into the six where a charging Lauren Egbunoliu headed it in on the run to make it another set piece goal for the Lady Techsters to go up 2-0 on Sam Houston (2-4-0).
 
LA Tech tacked on one more in the first period as Sophie Fijneman ran down a ball near the end line and crossed it into the six where Morgan Miller controlled it and headed it in from close range in the 43rd minute.
 
After a high-octane first half, the crowd of 252 got loud again in the 66th minute when Autumn Woodard subbed into the game.  The Lady Techsters' elite goal scorer from two seasons ago made her long-awaited return to the pitch, having not played since Nov. 6, 2019 due to injury.
 
The crowd got even louder 10 minutes later when Woodard received a pass, dribbled through traffic inside the 18 and scored inside the far post. 
 
QUOTABLES
"The message has been the same lately and that is the dam is going to break.  We have had opportunities.  It is one thing not creating, but we were creating and just not being able to put it away.  It was nice to be home in front of our fans.  The players really came through.  There were a couple of moments where we could have done even better, but at the end of the day, breaks finally went our way a little bit."
 
NOTABLES

• LA Tech remained unbeaten against Sam Houston, improving to 2-0-2 against the Bearkats.
• The four goals scored was the most ever in the series.Previously, two goals was the most (done by LA Tech in a 2-1 win back in 2010).
• Anna Loftus and Lauren Egbuonliu are now tied for most points on the team with seven (each has three goals and one assist this season).
• Anna Loftus netted her second game-winning goal of the season
• Morgan Miller registered her second goal of the season and the fourth of her career
• Autumn Woodard scored her first goal since Nov. 1, 2019.She holds numerous scoring records including most points (39) and most goals (17) in a single season.
• Libe Banuelos recorded her first victory in net, tallying five saves in the process.It was also her second shutout of the season.

UP NEXT
LA Tech returns to Robert Mack Caruthers Field on Sunday, Sept. 12 to battle Little Rock.  Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. and will be streamed live on CUSA.tv.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
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