NATCHITOCHES—Caitlin Le Roux netted the first goal of the season for Northwestern State, but a late rally fell short in a 2-1 loss to Rice in the home opener Sunday afternoon at the Lady Demon Soccer Complex.
 
Trailing 2-0 late, Le Roux scored from near the right corner of the field, burying it in left top corner of the goal to cut NSU's (0-3) deficit to 2-1.
 
However, the post was not the friend of the Lady Demons as several shots hit the pipe and bounced away to help Rice (2-2) come away with the win.
 
"We were very unlucky in this game," first-year head coach Ian Brophy said. "Soccer can be a cruel game, especially when you have as many shots and shots on goal as we had. I think we hit the post four times and had the ball cleared off the goal line twice."
 
NSU controlled the match early, but Rice seized command with a goal in the 13th minute on a lead feed pass from Natalie Gorji to Ellen Halseth between defenders and Halseth raced ahead for a 1-on-1 with goalkeeper Libe Banuelos, beating her bottom middle of the goal to score first.
 
The score stayed that way until early in the second half when Sarah Piper doubled the lead in the 48^th minute. Elizabet Velkova had the ball just outside the box in the left, passing it into dangerous territory to Halseth, who passed a few feet to Piper, where she did the rest.
 
Halseth was a menace all day for Rice, attempting a game-high five shots, scoring once and nearly tallying a few others as well.
 
NSU struggled to generate offense toward the late first half and early second half before the offense started rolling in terms of scoring opportunities.
 
The Lady Demons attempted seven shots in the final 27 minutes of action, as the team attempted 15 shots in the game after attempting five in the first two games combined.

"We could have had two or three more goals on the board today with all the chances we had, which is disappointing. We need to finish those chances, but I am happy with the chances we did create. I thought it was exciting to see us go on the offensive and attack."
 
Three of the shots came in a frantic few seconds in the 64th minute when NSU hit the post twice from Halee Griffin and Le Roux ended the flurry with a shot attempt that was saved by Ann Stephanie Fortin, one of five on the afternoon from her.
 
Le Roux's goal cut the deficit to one, but the Lady Demons could not inch any closer.
The goal was the first of her career.
 
"I don't know if it was an intended strike, but she was trying to put the ball in a dangerous area," Brophy said. "You get your reward if you do the right things and put the ball in the right areas."
 
NSU's final golden opportunity to score came from Madison Murphy in the 84th minute as she tried to knot the score. The 5-9 sophomore tried a header off a corner kick from Kylie Morris, but it was stopped and deflected over the net by Fortin.
 
The home team also had golden chances to score twice in the first three minutes, as Spitzer hit the post and Emme' Fernandez had a header stopped just before crossing the goal line by Fortin.
 
After missing the second half against Mississippi State, Libe Banuelos stopped four shots to keep the game within striking distance.
 
Griffin, Emme' Fernandez and Taylor Spitzer all attempted three shots in the game, which led the Lady Demons.
 
"There is definitely light at the end of the tunnel given that game," Brophy said. "There's a lot of positives to take from it in terms of the chances we created and the way we played offensively and attacking."
 
Next up is a trip to Southern Miss for NSU on Thursday before the Lady Demons come back home for a date with Alabama A&M on Sunday, which concludes the home portion of the non-conference schedule.