ENID, Okla. – The goalkeeping duo of
Anais Coyne (Mansfield, TX, Mansfield Legacy HS) and
Hannah May (Gonzales, LA, East Ascension HS) helped LSU Eunice Women's Soccer survive and advance as the Bengals upended Rose State in penalty kicks, 3-0, in the first round of the South District Tournament on Thursday. The thriller helped LSU Eunice (5-5-3) advance in the postseason for the third time in program history as the Bengals set up a semifinal matchup against No. 2 Seminole State on Friday.
The Bengals and Raiders would go into overtime scoreless as Coyne would shut out Rose State, making three saves in regulation. Both offenses were hamstrung by sustained winds of more than 20 miles per hour throughout the early afternoon contest.
LSUE controlled the early moments of the game, not allowing the Raiders to advance past midfield for the first seven minutes of game time, setting a tone for the day. The Bengals were able to get into dangerous areas but could not complete the final touches for a goal.
In overtime, both sides were finally able to get goal scoring opportunities.
Salome Deneubourg (Chalo-Saint-Mars, France, Jean Pierre Timbaud HS) launched a long-range missile that fell into the Rose State goalkeeper's mitts. The Raiders would return the favor, but not before
Rudo Marufu (Harare, Zimbabwe, Westridge HS) would make two game saving clearances into the six-yard box to send the game to the deciding penalty kicks.
May would sub in for Coyne in the final minute of overtime to face the Raiders in the best-of-five shootout. Rose State would miss the goal altogether in its first shot while May would make two diving saves in the attempts to follow.
Deneubourg and
Caroline Fielding (Covington, LA, Mandeville HS) would convert on their kicks before Marufu set the Bengals sideline into a frenzy, going high and ending the penalty kicks early with a third straight LSUE conversion. It was the first penalty kick shootout for LSUE in its program history.
LSUE now turns its attention to No. 2 Seminole State for a Friday semifinal at 11:30AM. It will be the third team in the NJCAA Division I Top 10 that the Bengals have faced this season.
