Oct. 17, 2008
McNeese State used a penalty kick goal from leading scorer Kamryn Koch in the 73rd minute to break a 1-1 stalemate and give the Cowgirls a 2-1 win over Lamar at Cardinal Stadium Friday night.
Koch and Lamar goalkeeper Jennifer Gibbs were converging on a free ball just inside the penalty area and collided, prompting referee George Kubove to award Koch a penalty shot. Gibbs, who stopped a `PK' in overtime last week at Central Arkansas was unable to get to Koch's shot as she went high and into the upper right corner. It was her 15th goal of the season which leads the Southland Conference.
Lamar moved to 2-9-1 overall and 0-4-1 in SLC play while McNeese improved to 8-5-1 and 4-0-1.
The Cowgirls held a 19-8 edge in shots and 5-1 in shots on goal.
"We played well tonight," Lamar head coach Dewi Hardman said. "(McNeese) is at the top of the league and we gave them everything they could handle. We showed a lot of patience and poise.
"Jennifer Gibbs denies a lot of opportunities because of her aggressiveness but because of her size will allow a high shot in on occasion."
Lamar got took a first-half lead on a goal by freshman Courtney Stocks at the 35:14 mark. Following a misclear by McNeese on a corner kick, Stocks got the ball with her back to the goal, turned and fired from the top of the box sending the ball over the outstretched hand of Shelby Money and into the back of the net. It was Stocks' first goal this year.
McNeese tied the game at 1-1 on a ball that Lauren LaLanne shot from the left wing in the 25-30 yard range. The ball sailed over Gibbs' hands and into the goal. It was LaLanne's second score of the season.
Lamar will return to action next weekend when it plays host to Southeastern Louisiana and Nicholls State. The SLU game on Friday kicks off at 7 p.m. with Sunday's home finale against the Lady Colonels at 2 p.m.
