HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University women's soccer team suffered a 4-1 loss in its 2026 season opener Thursday evening against the Ragin' Cajuns in Strawberry Stadium.
SLU (0-1) dropped its season home opener as Louisiana-Lafayette (1-0) gained the early lead and maintained their momentum throughout the match. Lion goalkeeper Kendall Curran along with Ragin' Cajun goalkeeper Ally Allen played all 90 minutes of the match in the net.
Both teams came out to a slow start in the opening minutes as they worked to settle into the match. Southeastern gained an opportunity to capture the early lead but could not connect after breaking free from the Ragin' Cajuns' back line of defense. Louisiana-Lafayette quickly returned with an offensive attack as Carson Glenn connected with Miku Kurihara to record the first goal of the match. Kurihara turned the momentum in favor of the Ragin' Cajuns, gaining a 1-0 edge in the 17th minute of the contest.
Louisiana-Lafayette remained on mission to set the tone early in the match, but the Lions persevered to quicken the tempo with the home field advantage. Returning from the brief hydration break, sophomore Daniella Muro delivered a smooth assist to junior Anna Claire Schwing to record Southeastern's first goal of the 2026 season, 1-1. Schwing tied the match off a header into the net in the 26th minute of the match as the tide of momentum shifted for the green and gold.
The Lions fought to capitalize on their aggression, but the Ragin' Cajuns swiftly bounced back to regain the lead, 2-1. In the 29th minute of the contest, Sydney Byrnes connected in the net from Glenn's second assist of the night to maintain their advantage. SLU battled to answer back, but fell short on misdirected passes up the field.
Southeastern continued to work to cut into its deficit as the defensive back line held strong to limit the visitor's opportunities for an extended stretch. Alongside Schwing, Charlotte Lewis, Kaitlyn Tung and Loegan Alia fired attempts around the net, but could not exploit the Ragin' Cajuns' breakdowns. Louisiana-Lafayette regrouped in the second half to extend its lead 3-1 in the 62nd minute of the match as Addison Soehn posted a goal.
SLU worked to regain its first half momentum with eight shots in the second half, but the Ragin' Cajuns turned up their aggression to block clear advances around the net. Madelyn Linenkugel secured the final goal of the match as Sophia Moore and Maiya Clark assisted to claim the victory, 4-1. Southeastern suffered the tough loss with 11 shots, two corner kicks and six shots on goal led by Schwing to close out the match.
The Lions will move forward to face Louisiana Tech Sunday at 5 p.m. in Ruston, La. Sunday's match will be streamed on ESPN+ with live stats, provided by the host, accessible on the women's soccer schedule page at www.LionSports.net.
SCORE ONE MORE CLUB/S CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the women's soccer program are encouraged to join the Score One More Club. Lion alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners. All membership fees and donations to Score One More Club are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern soccer program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091 or visiting www.LionUp.com.
SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Southeastern Soccer, follow @LionUpSoccer and @Nathan90G on X, like /SLUathletics on Facebook and follow slusoccer on Instagram.
