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The Louisiana soccer team earned the largest win in the Chris McBride era in a 5-1 victory over Middle Tennessee at the Home Bank Soccer and Track Complex on Thursday. It was the team’s largest win since 2021 and their first over the Blue Raiders since 2002.

“One thing we took away from Sunday was the number of chances, and we could have scored two or three goals,” said head coach Chris McBride. “It was important to us to stay positive and make sure we stayed engaged and not allow any negativity. We regrouped, went to practice the next day, and made sure we focused on the details.”

Louisiana picked up where they left off on Sunday, on the attack early. The team pushed the pace early before Sienna Hurrell scored off a corner kick in the sixth minute. The team refused to let up with Adeline Nemeth scoring in the 12th minute off an assist by Sydney Byrnes.

“Scoring early just helped create a mentality and helped us stay switched on,” said Hurrell. “Anything can happen out on the pitch and tonight we could’ve been on the other side of the scoreboard. We stayed dedicated all night and it showed on the scoreboard.”

The Cajuns surrendered a goal in the 26th minute but the team responded moments later with a goal by Sisley Stephens, giving them a 3-1 lead they eventually took into the half. The team never let up in the second half, recording 15 shots that led to goals by Lucy Ortiz and Tori Bockstadter. On the defensive side, they didn’t surrender a shot on goal in the second half.

“I felt like last year when we played them to a draw, they were the better team and we were happy to get a result from them,” said McBride. “We knew that it wasn’t a true reflection of our performance and tonight we wanted to make sure that for 90 minutes we put in a solid performance and we’re glad we did.”

On the night the Cajuns outshot the Blue Raiders 22-8, their third straight game with 20-plus shots. They only allowed two shots on goal on the night, compared to the team’s 15. On the year the Cajuns have outshot opponents 64-21 and have a 36-6 advantage in shots on goal.

“There was a lot of aggression from our side for them to not get anything on target tonight,” said Hurrell. “That starts with the goalkeeper through the defenders and midfielders to the forwards. It was a total team effort, no individual won it tonight, it was all of us.”

The Cajuns are back in action against Florida Atlantic at noon on Sunday from the Home Bank Soccer and Track Complex.