Oct. 16, 2009
Kari Davila scored in the 58th minute to help Lamar record its first Southland Conference victory of the season with a 1-0 win over Northwestern State at the Lamar Soccer Complex Friday night.
In a game played in chilly, windy conditions, the Lady Cardinals never let up in earning the program's first-ever win at its brand new facility. Lamar (2-11-1, 1-4-0 SLC) also secured its first three points of the conference slate and moved into a tie with NSU and McNeese State for sixth place.
"The cooler weather made it fun for both teams to get after it," Lamar head coach Dewi Hardman said. "The wind was a big factor but not the ultimate factor. For us, it became a question of who can score the goal and we were fortunate to get it whereas in some of our other one-goal games, our opponents have gotten the breaks."
Davila's goal came at the 57:45 mark when a header by Lisa Hance from just outside the box landed between a Demon defender and goalkeeper Lindy Strahan. Davila continued pressing and found herself in a one-v-one situation. She then slowed the ball enough to flip it with the outside of her foot over Strahan and into the goal.
"This was a game very typical for this league and had two very evenly matched teams," Hardman added. "We got a break on a miscommunication by their back line and Kari did a nice job of not giving up and then finished it well."
The game winner was the second of the season for Davila, tying her with former standout Aline Pugliesi for the single-season and career record. It was also the second time Hance has assisted on a game-deciding score, tying the LU career mark.
Lamar's Jennifer Gibbs made two saves in the contest as the Lady Cardinals posted their first shutout of the year and second in school history - both with Gibbs in goal. She saw her goals against average dip to a season-low 2.34 following her two saves on 11 total shots faced.
While Gibbs made a fairly routine save in the 32nd minute, it was her leaping punch over the goal on a wind-aided ball from approximately 40 yards out a minute earlier that caught the attention of Hardman.
"Jen is a very athletic and aggressive keeper in goal," he said. "She's not the tallest but makes up for it by being so athletic. The thing with her is she is reading the game better and getting in the right places. But yes that was a very good effort on that ball."
Lisa Topping led Lamar with five shots, while both her and Davila put two on goal. The Lady Cardinals finished the game with eight of their 15 on goal.
Northwestern State (8-7, 1-3 SLC) took 11 shots with two on goal. Strahan recorded seven saves in goal.
Lamar will play its final home game of the season on Sunday at 2 p.m. when it welcomes Central Arkansas (6-7-1, 0-4 SLC) to town.
