PINEVILLE, La. – For the first time since the first three games of the 2015 season, the Louisiana College women's soccer team can say it is on a win streak after converting two penalty kicks on its way to a 3-1 win over the Centenary Ladies Tuesday night at Wildcat Field.
 
It didn't take long for the Wildcats to get on the board as Larisa Soliz turned a pass from Lena Cogghe into the box in the third minute and took a hard hit between a Centenary defender and the goalkeeper, drawing a whistle from the referee who immediately pointed to the spot to signal a penalty kick. Laura Baú Magleau placed the ball down on the spot and easily placed the penalty kick in the lower left corner to put the Wildcats up 1-0 early.
 
The score stayed at 1-0 all the way through halftime before the Wildcats were afforded another shot from the spot. In the 52^nd minute, Martina Terra Garcia fed a nice through ball to Andrea Garcia Vargas who got into the box before she was hit from behind by the defender she had beaten to receive the pass, earning LC another penalty kick. This time, Laura Pérez Velasco stepped up to the spot pushed her shot through the goalkeeper's fingers into the top right corner for a 2-0 LC advantage.
 
A temporary defensive lapse coming out of the second half water break allowed Centenary to pull one of those goals back in the 69^th minute. But the Wildcats held strong throughout the remaining 21 minutes of the match, and Stephanie Doran secured the victory for LC as Laura Pérez Velasco fed in another nice through ball that left Doran one-on-one with the goalkeeper and Doran did the rest for the clincher in the 88^th minute.
 
"As we played our first official match at home, it was very important for us to keep the win at home," said Louisiana College women's soccer head coach Carla Tejas. "Even though it wasn't our best game as a collective, the girls did their part and secured the W. One of our main focuses before we get to conference is to build our chemistry on the pitch and being able to score another three goals is always good for the team atmosphere. We want to do big things this season but we are taking care of one game at a time."
 
Laura Pérez Velasco led the team with a goal, which officially went down as the game-winner, and an assist, the first of both for her on the season. She took two shots in the contest, putting both on frame. Laura Baú Magleau took a team high four shots, put two on frame, and scored her second goal of the season. Stephanie Doran, making her LC debut, equaled Baú Magleau's number with four shots, but put three on target, and scored her first goal as a Wildcat. Louisiana College ended the night taking 17 shots as a team, putting nine of them on target.
 
For the second straight match, Jessica Carro Pedreira (2-0) played the entire match in goal. She was credited with four saves as she faced seven total shots from the Ladies in the match, five of which were on target.
 
With their match on Saturday against Blue Mountain canceled due to COVID-19 protocols, the Wildcats (2-0) next scheduled match is set for Monday, September 6^th against Mississippi University for Women. Kickoff against the Owls (0-0) is set for 11:00 A.M. at the Columbus Soccer Complex.