LAFAYETTE, La. – Lamar University women's soccer coach Steve Holeman is looking for a silver lining in the cloud of injuries that has plagued the Cardinals this season.
 
LU, which has already been hit hard by the injury bug in the early part of this season, saw a few more players go down to injury in Friday's 4-1 non-conference loss at Louisiana-Lafayette to open a five-game road swing.
 
"Our numbers are dwindling," Holeman said after the game. "But hopefully, someone will see this as their chance to step up and prove that they belong in the lineup."
 
The lack of depth caught up to the Cardinals (0-5) in the second half, as the Ragin' Cajuns (2-3) outscored LU 3-0 after intermission. The Cardinals, who have been outscored 4-2 in the first half this season, have been outscored 11-0 in the second half.
 
"We should be further along than we are," Holeman said about the team's conditioning. "As a team, we started behind the eight ball, and we haven't been able to catch up."
 
The Cardinals took an early 1-0 lead Friday, as M.J. Eckart scored on a header, converting a corner kick off the foot of Angelica Hernandez just 5:05 into the contest. It was Eckart's second goal of the season and seventh of her career, tying her with Mari Olastuen for 10^th place on LU's all-time list. Hernandez has assisted on both of Eckart's goals this season.
 
The Ragin' Cajuns knotted the game less than four minutes later when Mackenzie Higgins scored on a breakaway after LU goalkeeper Rachel Gries made the initial save.
 
The score remained tied at 1 until Whitney Taggart gave the Ragin' Cajuns a 2-1 lead at the 8:14 mark of the second half, as she headed the ball past Gries on a direct kick by Ashleigh Cade. Louisiana-Lafayette upped its lead to 3-1 with 17:55 remaining in the game as Carly Ellender cashed in a rebound after a spectacular save by Gries.
 
Higgins closed out the scoring with 9:13 remaining by scoring on a penalty kick.
 
Gries made nine saves for the Cardinals, who were outshot 27-10 for the game and 16-2 over the final 45 minutes.
 
The Cardinals return to action at 1 p.m. Sunday when they face Southern University in a non-conference game at Jaguar Field in Baton Rouge, La.  Southern (0-2) dropped a 6-1 decision to visiting McNeese on Friday night.
 
"We'll have a light walk-through at Southern on Saturday and get ready for Sunday's game," Holeman said. "We're aiming to get that first win."
 
LU's next home game is 7 p.m. Sept. 23 against Northwestern State in a Southland Conference match at the LU Soccer Complex.