11-1-24
It was a game of pride at Hoops Family Field on Halloween, as the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Women’s Soccer Team came to Huntington to face off against the Marshall Thundering Herd for the final game of both teams’ seasons. The SBC Tournament was altered for the 2024 campaign, allowing only the top eight teams to qualify for postseason play, differing from previous years where the top ten were allowed in. Louisiana (6-5-8) sat in eleventh on the Sun Belt Conference ladder before the game, with a 1-4-4 conference record, tied with Marshall (3-7-5), who also posted a 1-4-4 conference record.
The Herd came out firing and started completely different from its usual defensive and methodical style of play. In the 18th minute, junior defender Madison Townes was fouled in the box for Marshall’s first penalty kick of the entire season. This set the stage for junior midfielder Bailey Fisher, as she notched her fourth goal of the year with a beautiful shot that Louisiana goalkeeper Makenna Garcia had no chance of stopping.
Marshall hammered five more shots before halftime, completely dominating in total shots in the first half with eight to Louisiana’s four. However, the Herd could not find the back of the net, and the squads went into the locker room with Marshall leading 1-0.
The Ragin’ Cajuns stuck to a much different strategy than the Thundering Herd did throughout the season, as Louisiana loved to shoot as much as it could. Unfortunately, Louisiana could not settle in and find its usual strategy, but the Cajuns figured things out in the second half and went back to what they loved. LU outshot the Herd by five in the second half, completely flipping the script and being the aggressor.
After trailing for almost 44 minutes of play, Louisiana equalized in the 63rd minute as junior midfielder Sisley Stephens hit a beautiful cross to freshman defender Sydney Byrnes, who was able to tally the second goal of her collegiate career with a fantastic finish off the left goal post.
The Ragin’ Cajuns stayed in control offensively, and in the 83rd minute senior forward Tatum Beck scored an absolute beauty as she was falling to the ground at the 16-yard box. She was able to get just enough power on her shot for the ball to hit the bottom left corner of the goalpost and bounce in.
Louisiana would hold on to its 2-1 lead and win the game. This result was icing on the cake for the final game of Beck’s collegiate soccer career, as she tallied her fourth ever game winning goal. In total, she scored 10 goals, accumulated four assists, and played in 74 games over four years.
Rafa Simoes, Marshall first-year head coach, described this season as a “rebuilding year” after the game, and rightfully so, as the team began the season with 19 new faces. Furthermore, the Thundering Herd only have three seniors on the roster, meaning 26 players are eligible to return next year. The future is bright for this Herd team, as more than likely many familiar faces will come back next season, and they will have a season playing coach Simoes’ methodical and defensive style of play under their belt. There will be no conference tournament play for Marshall Women’s Soccer this season, but all signs lead to much improvement coming in 2025.