Special to the LPJ
Ruston High Girls’ Soccer
RUSTON, La. — Ruston High’s Lady Bearcat soccer squad has started the 2025-26 season on fire after winning its first three matches and outscoring its opponents 23 goals to just two.
“Three and 0 is a great start but we know we have areas we can improve and there’s still growth to be made,” Ruston High head coach Jacquelyn Bean said. “We have freshman that will gain more and more experience in each game as we advance into the next part of our season. I am so proud of the work they’ve put in during the summer and preseason.”
Part of Ruston’s tear through non-district includes a 4-2 win over Airline this past Thursday — the first confirmed win since 2014 (according to the team’s archives).
“We led 2-0 at the half after sophomore Bridget Crittenden opened up the scoring halfway in the first half, and then defensive midfielder Baylee Craig got our second goal, unassisted,” Bean said. “After halftime Airline came back out, they had adjusted their formation and scored 1 within the first 5 minutes. We answered back 3-1, they scored again and made it 3-2. We made some substitutions, changed to a more defensive formation.
“Late in the game we had an indirect kick just inside the 18 yard box that Crittenden nailed into the top bin, assisted by Emely Ulloa, making the score 4-2. We road out the final minutes to the whistle.”
Ruston also was able to get wins over both Franklin Parish and Minden in the first two games and scored two clean sheets.
The Lady Bearcats will play Haughton Tuesday, December 2, and then return home Thursday December 4, to take on North DeSoto.
