MONROE, La. – Never count out the Cowgirls.
 
That was the moral of the story in Sunday afternoon's thriller between the McNeese State women's soccer team and ULM. After trailing the entire first half of the match and struggling to make a play, the Cowgirls were able to bounce back from an early deficit and score a pair of second half goals to help lift them over ULM for the 2-1 season opening victory.
 
"I thought this was a great victory for our team," said McNeese head coach Scooter Savoie. "The first half saw us trying to find ourselves which is what you expect the first time that you step on the field. After trailing at first and realizing what we needed to do, we did a much better job as the game went on. Our team showed a lot of courage and fought to get better as the game went on."
 
A sluggish start allowed the Warhawks to take advantage for a majority of the match  and just 10 minutes in were able to take the lead on a shot headed in from a corner kick to take a 1-0 advantage over McNeese.
 
However, the Cowgirls would turn the table in the second half of play by launching an offensive attack that would drown the ULM defense and give McNeese the momentum it needed.
 
"I thought that ULM had some good momentum and play in the first half and I thought that we did a great job in the second half with our players adjusting and balancing our team out better," said Savoie. "We were able to take some things from the Warhawks in order to give ourselves the advantage."
 
Junior midfielder Bettina Brulhart, a transfer from NAIA member Lindsey Wilson, notched her first career NCAA goal in dramatic fashion right after intermission as she helped opened a scoring attack with a beautiful shot from the top of the box that landed over the goalkeeper's head to knot the score up in the 51^st minute at one goal apiece. Sophomore Gabi D'Alesandro was credited with the assist with the pass to Brulhart.
 
"Bettina got us back in the game with a great volley shot on frame that went in for spectacular goal," said Savoie. "Gabi (D'Alesandro) was able to score a great goal with three minutes left to finish the game off and get the game winner for us. It was a great performance out of those two."
 
Both sides continued to trade close calls throughout the remainder of the match and overtime seemed imminent until the 86^th minute. Senior goalkeeper Lauren Sestak launched a pass that was received by D'Alesandro, who shot from the left wing into the top right corner, to help the Cowgirls climb out to a 2-1 lead over ULM. The goal was D'Alesandro's third of her career.
 
The Warhawks scurried to create scoring plays in the closing minutes of the match but were unable to take advantage as the McNeese defense held strong for the season opening victory.
 
Brulhart and D'Alesandro led the team in shots with three apiece while three other Cowgirls recorded an attempt in the match.
 
Sestak was strong in between the posts as she made some incredible saves that helped spark a fire in the Cowgirls. Sestak made eight total saves in the match.
 
"We had great play from out backline that included Lauren (Sestak)," said Savoie. "She made some big plays in goal for us and was able to help secure the victory."
 
Savoie was quick to praise the effort given by some of the newcomers to the McNeese squad. The freshmen were able to provide some depth for the Cowgirls and help seal the win.
 
"Zoey Pawlik gave us some good minutes while Morgan Middleton provided us with minutes as well," said Savoie. "Nola Prickett had a start and did a good job creating pressure up top. I was excited because the game allowed us to rotate players and look at different situations."
 
Despite the loss, the Warhawks controlled most of the match leading in shots taken, 18-9, and in corner kicks, 7-1.
 
The match was the second consecutive season opener in which McNeese obtained a victory over its opponent. The Cowgirls also extended their unbeaten streak against the Warhawks to six straight matches.
 
McNeese will be back in action Tuesday, Aug. 25 when the squad returns home to face Prairie View A&M at 6 p.m. The match, originally scheduled for last Friday, was postponed due to inclement weather.

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