Box Score COLUMBUS, Miss. -  Mississippi University for Women goalkeeper David McCutchen registered a match-leading 12 saves, but it was not enough versus a potent Louisiana College side in The W's season opener at home.  The Owls (0-1) lost a 3-1 count to the Wildcats (3-0).
 
The visiting LC team is off to its best start in nearly a decade during its first season as an NAIA scholarship program. The Owls, transitioning to NCAA III, remained close to the Wildcats behind McCutchen's deft effort in the nets, despite facing a 26-7 deficit in shot attempts.
 
Louisiana College built a 2-0 halftime cushion on a pair of goals from Jason Rodriguez, making it 2-0. The Wildcats added a goal in the 65th minute for a 3-0 advantage.
 
The Owls got on the board in the 73rd minute thanks to a direct kick goal from 20-yards away off the foot of Vini Lopes (Sao Paulo, Brazil). Lopes had two of The W's seven shot attempts as a team.
 
Senior forward Josh Martin (Memphis, Tenn./Pass Christian HS) also had two shot tries for MUW, both on-goal.
 
The Owls will next travel to Eureka, Ill., for a pair of games at Eureka College on Thursday and Friday. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. each day. Eureka is a member of the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, to which The W was recently admitted as a member upon reaching full NCAA III status.