RUSTON, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University women's soccer team claimed a dominant 5-1 road victory over in-state foe Louisiana Tech Sunday evening at Robert Mack Caruthers Field.
Southeastern (1-1) gained its first win of the 2026 season against Louisiana Tech (0-1-1) on the road, recording head coach Nathan Gillespie's largest margin of victory since 2023 versus Alcorn State (6-0). The Lions handled business on all fronts with a productive second half, claiming four goals in the final half alone. Senior goalkeeper Kendall Curran protected the net for 70 minutes with three saves before junior Megan Kingman checked in for the final 20 minutes in the net to help the green and gold close out the match.
SLU came out aggressive in the opening minutes of the contest, yet both teams worked to find a rhythm. The Lions battled to earn early control of the tempo with solid break away opportunities up the field for one-on-one attacks. Southeastern continued to push the pace and was rewarded with a 1-0 lead in the 29th minute of the first half as sophomore Alexandra Knight secured the first goal of the match off a free kick from senior Isabella Walls.
Knight marked her first goal of the 2026 season, picking up from last season's momentum as the Lions' leading striker. SLU kept its momentum throughout the first half and continued to put pressure on Louisiana Tech's defense. The green and gold set the tempo the remainder of the half as it allowed its possessions to build up while taking care of the ball.
Southeastern battled to maintain its lead to close out the first half as the team exposed the Bulldogs' defensive gaps, 1-0. Though the evening was just getting underway for the Lions to return with a commanding second half performance fueled by Knight.
SLU opened the second half with the ball and quickly went to work to extend its lead as two goals were scored within 60.0 seconds. Junior Charlotte Lewis struck high off the top left of the goal to tally her first goal of the season, 2-0. Knight also circled back to connect around the top left of the goal off a beautiful set up by Kaitlyn Tung to further Southeastern's lead, 3-0. The Shreveport, La. native claimed her first multi-goal match of her career as the green and gold caused frustration to arise for the in-state foe with a yellow card given to the Bulldogs.
The Lions' defense remained solid throughout the match to limit opportunities as their physicality proved to be no match for Louisiana Tech. Knight, not done for the evening, struck again in the 59th minute of the match off a hat trick move and assist by Tung to lead SLU with three goals in the match, 4-0.
Knight hit the back post on the ground and closed out the night as the first Lion since Christina Cutura in 2018 to record three goals in a single match as Southeastern refused to let up on the road. Tung also closed out with an impressive performance, securing her first multi-assist match of her career with the Lions.
The green and gold kept its foot on the gas with other break away opportunities late in the second half. Curran, along with SLU's backline of defense, stayed on mission to protect the net against the Bulldogs. As the Lions' remained composed with the lead, Louisiana Tech gained a short breakthrough as Madison Pensom connected in the net past Kingman off an assist by Reagan Roberts, 4-1.
As the end of the match loomed near, senior Ella Quinlan posted the final goal in the 73rd minute of the contest off an assist by sophomore Aja Nelson. Quinlan's first goal of the new season solidified the victory for SLU as 21 players saw action in the 5-1 road win. Southeastern recorded 21 shots, 16 shots on goal with four corner kicks to end the match against Louisiana Tech.
The Lions will seek to keep their momentum going as they will return to home to face Troy Thursday, Aug. 20 at 7 p.m. in Strawberry Stadium. Thursday's match will be streamed on ESPN+.
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.
