RUSTON – The Louisiana Tech soccer team notched two first-half goals and were able to hang on for the final 35 minutes with a one-goal advantage to secure a 2-1 victory over Little Rock on Sunday afternoon at Robert Mack Caruthers Field.
 
Coming off a big 4-0 win against Sam Houston at home on Friday, LA Tech (4-3-1) continued its scoring ability against Little Rock (2-3-1).
 
After struggling to break down the Trojans defense, the Lady Techsters had a little luck on their side in the 34th minute when Carmen Suarez received a pass from Tomoyo Kuroyanagi, took one touch and fired a low shot from 25 yards straight away at the keeper who fumbled the ball underneath her. 
 
As the match closed in on halftime, LA Tech put a second goal on the scoreboard.  This time it was Marcel Gallo who dispossessed a Trojan defender after a throw in inside the 18.  The senior took a quick turn and produced a sliding shot that found the back of the net in the 43rd minute.
 
Little Rock got more aggressive in the early second half, and the Trojans took advantage of a foul called at midfield.  The set piece resulted in a header goal by Julia Edholm in the 55th minute to slice the deficit in half.    
 
It was a frenetic pace the rest of the way as the Lady Techster defense withstood the pressure by the Trojans and Libe Banuelos stood tall in net the rest of the way to help seal the home weekend sweep.
 
QUOTABLES
Interim head coach Steve Voltz
 
"We committed ourselves to our style of play and having a good home weekend.  The physical commitment this weekend by the team really showed up.  Whether they played zero minutes or 90 minutes, everybody played a part in this.  It was a complete team effort.  We rotated players on Friday quite a bit and today was the same strategy.  We played a strong, physical team today in Little Rock so far us it was speed of play, using our technical ability and trying to keep our legs fresh.  We were able to see the game out."
 
NOTABLES

• LA Tech remains undefeated at Robert Mack Caruthers Field, improving to 3-0-0.
• LA Tech now leads the all-time series over Little Rock, 4-1-0, having won the last four meetings.
• This was the first match this season that LA Tech won while surrendering a goal.The three previous victories came via shutout.
• 18 of LA Tech's 21 goals this season have come in the first half.
• It was the first goal of the season for Carmen Suarez (first career) and Marcela Gallo (second career).
• 14 Lady Techsters have registered at least one goal this season.

UP NEXT
Conference USA action gets underway for Louisiana Tech on Thursday, Sept. 16 when the Lady Travels travel to take on UAB.  Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. and will be streamed on CUSA.tv.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
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