LAKE CHARLES, La. – Five different players scored goals for McNeese State as the Cowgirls handed Prairie View A&M a 5-0 loss Tuesday in the Lady Panthers' season-opener.
 
Nola Prickett seized the lead for the home side 12 minutes into the contest with a well-placed header off a pass from teammate Kelley Clancy. The Cowgirls added to their lead with a pair of goals less than 30 seconds apart when Gabi D'Alesandro (20th minute) and Bettina Brulhart (21st minute) scored.
 
McNeese State improved to 2-0 with the victory over their young opponents. The Lady Panthers (0-1) graduated 10 seniors from the 2014 team; though inexperienced, the young squad that PVAMU brought from the other side of the Sabine River showed athleticism and promise in its first fixture of 2015.
 
Prairie View A&M goalkeeper Dominique Dillon (Oxnard, Calif./Pacifica) made nine saves for the Lady Panthers. Last season's leading scorer Alicia Cooper registered five shots on goal, but a stifling Cowgirl defense kept Cooper's strikes off-target.
 
McNeese State goalkeeper Lauren Sestak picked up the win in goal, and only needed to make one save for the Cowgirls. She stopped a strike from the foot of Prairie View A&M's Rachel Johnson six minutes after the restart.
 
Prairie View A&M fell to 0-5 against McNeese State in the all-time series. The Cowgirls outlasted PVAMU 1-0 in the 2014 season opener.
 
The Lady Panthers return to action Friday when they start a two-match road trip through south Texas. Prairie View A&M visits Texas–Rio Grande Valley on Friday, and concludes their trip with a Sunday contest at Incarnate Word in San Antonio.