EUNICE, La. —
Xavier University of Louisiana, in its women's soccer
varsity debut and only exhibition on the 2023 schedule, won 3-1
Wednesday at LSU-Eunice.
All four goals were scored
in the second half.
Ella-Mae Miller produced the Gold Nuggets'
first two goals, and
Faye Butterworth scored the third.
"I'm very pleased with
this game," XULA head coach Ashley Cordeiro said. "There are a lot
of positives to build on as we enter the regular season."
This was the Gold
Nuggets' only exhibition. They'll kick off the regular season
at home — Lafreniere Park in suburban Metairie, La. —
at 1 p.m. Aug. 24 against NAIA No. 7 Tennessee Southern. Admission
is free to all XULA home soccer games this season.
XULA missed a penalty
kick in the 49th minute but finally scored on Miller's long-range
shot nine minutes later. Miller made it 2-0 on a long free kick
in the 66th minute.
Butterworth gave
the Gold Nuggets a 3-0 lead in the 86th minute on a free kick —
a bender into a goal corner.
Olivia Stanford denied XULA
a shutout when she scored in the 88th minute.
XULA goalkeeper
Theresa Wiesiolek played all of the first half,
and
Luisa Bella played all of the second half.
NOTES:
The Nuggets' team tryouts — open to current and future
XULA students and 2024 high-school graduates — were pushed back
to 3 p.m. Monday at Lafreniere.
Mandatory: fill out a participation waiver —
visit
is.gd/YSlRK5
— and email it no later than Sunday to Cordeiro,
acordeir@xula.edu.