EUNICE, La. – LSU Eunice scored its fourth shutout of the early season with a 2-0 victory over No. 14 Holmes CC on Tuesday at Bengals Soccer Complex. It was LSUE's (5-0-1) first win over a NJCAA ranked team in the program's two-year history.
"We pride ourselves on our defensive effort and our girls left it all on the field tonight," LSU Eunice women's soccer head coach Ian McGimsey said. "Holmes has some very special offensive players and to hold them scoreless speaks to the night we had on that end."
The Bulldogs came into the contest as the top scoring offense in NJCAA Division I, averaging 7.6 goals per game. Holmes also sports the nation's leading points scorer, Cariel Ellis (35 points).
Both teams sparred to a scoreless first half with most of the action in the midfield.
Mariah Scott (San Antonio, TX, Legacy of Educational Excellence HS) tallied four of her six saves in the first half as part of her fourth clean sheet of the season. The first half had a 30-minute lightning delay that stopped action midway in the half.
LSUE finally scored five minutes into the second half after
Sherice Clarke (Kingston, Jamaica, Wolmer's HS) drew a foul just above the 18-yard box.
Samaris Alvarado (Houston, TX, Klein Forest HS) took the free kick, bending a low bouncing shot to the right post, ricocheting in for the game winner.
That goal opened up the game, as LSUE had a few more opportunities throughout the half while the Bengals limited Holmes to just two shots on goal in the half.
Alvarado put the game on ice in the 87th minute as she corralled a Scott clearance near midfield, splitting a pair of defenders and chipping her second goal of the evening. The freshman winger has scored six goals, including three game winners, in the last three matches.
LSUE fired 16 shots on the evening, paced by Sherice Clarke's four shots. The sophomore had three on target.
The Bengals embark on a three-game road swing beginning Tuesday, September 17 at Jones College. The rematch of last year's Region 23 Championship game is set for a 5:00PM start time from Ellisville, Mississippi.
