CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The Lamar University women's soccer team saw its hopes for a Southland Conference Tournament berth take a severe setback with a heartbreaking 2-1 loss at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Friday evening.
 
Nanna Poulsen scored on a corner kick with 1:29 remaining in regulation to leave the Cardinals stunned. Poulsen took her shot from the left corner and hooked it in past LU goalkeeper Lauren Lovejoy.
 
"That's a disappointing way to lose," LU coach Orlando Cervantes said. "They mishit a corner kick and the wind takes it and pushes it into the net. We deserved a better outcome than that."
 
With the loss, the Cardinals (6-11-1 overall, 2-6-1 Southland) need to win their final two games and rely on some help from the out-of-town scoreboard to earn the sixth, and final, berth into next month's tournament.
 
"I've never been a part of a game where we've dominated so much and didn't get the win," Cervantes said. "I was proud of the way we played, and I was proud of our effort. We just came up a little bit hort."
 
LU took a 1-0 lead late in the first half when Juliana Ocampo scored her fourth of the season by converting a nifty setup from Jordan Mulnix with 2:39 remaining in the opening period. The assist was Mulnix's school-record 28th point of the season, as she moved past the previous record of 27 points set by Kimmy Albeno in 2012.
 
The Islanders (4-9-2, 4-4-1) got the equalizer 8:45 into the second half when Jessica Berdan put her own rebound past LU goalkeeper Lauren Lovejoy.
 
"We made a mistake and failed to clear the ball," Cervantes said. "They made us pay for it."
The Cardinals had several chances to regain the lead, but were stymied by Texas A&M-Corpus Christi goalkeeper Megan Delaney, who made five saves, some of them spectacular in the second half.
 
The game appeared to be headed for overtime until Poulsen scored the improbable goal to stun the Cardinals.
 
"It was a fluke goal," Cervantes lamented. "That was a game we deserved to win."
 
Lovejoy made eight saves for LU, while Delaney finished with six saves for the Islanders, who solidified their chances for a tournament berth.
 
The Cardinals are scheduled to play at Houston Baptist at 1 p.m. Sunday before closing out the regular season at 7 p.m. Oct. 30 at McNeese State.
 
"We just have to win and hope," Cervantes said. "We are not going to quit fighting."