Oct. 1, 2010

BEAUMONT, Texas - Jennifer Gibbs registered her first shutout of the season to lead the Lamar University Lady Cardinals to a 3-0 win over visiting Nicholls in a Southland Conference women's soccer game Friday night.

Gibbs collected three saves as she notched her fourth career shutout as Lamar (3-6-1 overall, 1-0-0 SLC) snapped a five-game winless streak.

"It was great for Jen," Lamar coach Dewi Hardman said. "She deserves the shutout. She has stepped it up and worked hard for it."

The Lady Cardinals scored all of their goals after intermission. Lisa Hance opened the scoring with her team-leading fourth goal of the season 7:08 into the second half. Jennifer Moore had a goal and an assist and Amber Thornhill also scored for Lamar.

Nichols goalkeeper Molly Mersereau kept the Cololnels (6-3-1, 0-1-0) in the game with some spectacular saves. Merserau finished the game with 13 saves.

It was the first time in the four-year history of the Lamar program that the Lady Cardinals won their conference opener. The three-goal margin of victory ties a Lamar record for the largest margin in a conference win.

We played well in both halves," Hardman said. "We had a solid defensive performance. It's a good reward for our efforts."

Lamar returns to action at 2 p.m. Sunday when it hosts Southeastern Louisiana in a Southland Conference game.

LAMAR