BEAUMONT, Texas – The Lamar University women's soccer team looks to keep its hops for a Southland Conference Tournament berth alive this weekend as it travels to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Houston Baptist for crucial conference games.
 
LU is at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at 7 p.m. Friday and Houston Baptist at 1 p.m. Sunday before closing out the regular season at McNeese State at 7 p.m. Oct. 30.
 
The Cardinals (6-10-1 overall, 2-5-1 Southland) have seven points, three points behind Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (3-9-2, 3-4-1) with three games remaining. Making the task tougher for the Cardinals is that McNeese State with nine points, and Northwestern State with eight points, are also ahead of LU in the standings.
 
"We have our work cut out for us," Lamar coach Orlando Cervantes said. "Every game is basically a must-win situation."
 
Friday's game at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi marks just the second time this season the Cardinals will play on artificial turf. LU dropped a 3-2 decision at Southeastern Louisiana in its first game on turf this season.
 
"It's a different game for sure," Cervantes said of contests on the synthetic surface. "It makes for a much faster game. We're going to have to keep the ball on the ground and control our passes."
 
The Islanders have gone 3-0-1 over their last four games to get into the thick of the hunt for a tournament berth. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi goalkeeper Megan Delaney has played every second this season for the Islanders, posting a 1.94 goals-against average and a .770 save percentage with one shutout. Hailey Sutton is the team's leading scorer with seven points on three goals and one assist.
 
Houston Baptist (8-4-1, 6-2-0), the defending conference tournament champion, sits two points behind Stephen F. Austin for the conference lead heading into the weekend. The Huskies host McNeese State at 7 p.m. Friday before welcoming the Cardinals to town on Sunday.
 
The Huskies, who are 4-1-0 in their last five games, are led by freshman Sabriah Spencer, who has nine of the team's 20 goals this fall.
 
For LU, the Cardinals are not only look to qualify for the conference tournament for the first time since 2012, they are on the verge of setting some individual records this season. LU freshman Jordan Mulnix has 12 goals this season, good enough to lead the conference and tie the single-season mark set by Kimmy Albeno in 2012. Mulnix's 27 points are tied for the conference lead and tied with Albeno's mark set in 2012.
 
At the other end of the field, LU sophomore goalie Lauren Lovejoy is second in the nation with 132 saves, a number that leads the Southland Conference and is 15 shy of the single-season mark of 147 set by Kelsie Binetti in 2007.
 
The Cardinals have scored 42 goals this season, a figure that leads the Southland Conference and ranks fourth nationally. LU, which is 0-5-1 in its last six games, is coming off a strong effort against Incarnate Word, a 1-1 tie that saw LU hold a 35-24 edge in shots, only to see UIW goalkeeper Sydney Huntsinger set a personal record with 18 saves.
 
"That's the way this game goes at times. One day you score three goals on 10 shots, the next, you get one on 35," Cervantes said. "We had the opportunities, we just have to do a better job of finishing our chances."