Sept. 24, 2008

Box Score

THIBODAUX, La. - In their first home match of the 2008 season, the Colonel soccer team dropped a 4-2 decision to Centenary Wednesday afternoon at the Colonel Soccer Complex.

"I think being able to play on our home field was good for us today," said head coach Cindy Piper. "It's been tough being out on the road, mentally and physically. We've kind of gotten tired. Dealing with the hurricanes and traveling so much as taken a toll on us, so it's good to be home and it's good to see our fans get out and support the team. We had a good turnout today and I think the girls really appreciated it."

The Centenary Ladies improve to 2-7 on the year, while Nicholls falls to 2-7.

"We try to have pride on our home field and the girls really showed that in the second half. They battled pretty well," Piper added. "Obviously the loss is tough for us - no one likes to lose. It would have been easy for our girls to pack it in and give up being down 2-0 at halftime and then 4-0 within the first five minutes of the second half. I'm pretty proud that they were able to step back in and score two goals."

Down 4-0 in the 50th minute of action, junior Jessica Bedford (Northhamptonshire, England/Wollaston) knocked a pass from junior Caitlyn Donegan (Thibodaux, La./E.D. White Catholic) off of the left post past two Centenary defenders to put the Colonels on the board.

Less than seven minutes later, a Donegan cross was driven into the back right corner of the net by sophomore Kaity Mattsson (Bracebridge, Ontario/Bracebridge & Muskoka Lakes) to cut the Lady lead to 4-2. The goal is Mattsson's fourth of the season, making her the leading scorer for Nicholls.

"The girls did exactly what we've been working on - playing the ball out to the flanks and passing it in to crash the goal," stressed Piper. "We knew that was going to work for us and it's nice to see our team finally buying in to that and responding to what we're teaching them. I think we gained some confidence and were able to understand that we can come back in situations. I thought Caitlyn [Donegan] had a great second half and she really stepped up as a leader for us today. [Jessica] Bedford and Kaity Mattsson are upperclassmen and those are the people we look to to produce goals for us."

Freshman Sarah Damen (Houma, La./Terrebonne) saw her third-straight 90 minute game in goal for the Colonels, making 10 saves in addition to allowing all four goals.

The Colonels took two other shots on goal, with Donegan and freshman Carolyn Noble (Burlington, Ontario/Lester B. Pearson) framing shots between the posts.

"We need to use the momentum we gained here, scoring goals late in the game, to build as we go into Southland Conference play," Piper said. "It's a loss, but it's something to build off of. All of those excuses are behind us and we're going to come out next weekend and be ready for a homestand and win some games."

Nicholls will return to the pitch Friday, Oct. 3, opening Southland Conference play versus Sam Houston State. Kickoff is slated for 4 p.m.

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