HOUSTON – The Lamar University women's soccer team kept its hopes for a Southland Conference Tournament berth alive with a 2-1 victory at Houston Baptist on Wednesday night.
 
The Cardinals (7-11-1 overall, 3-6-1 Southland) have 10 points, two behind Nicholls with one game remaining. LU must win its season finale at McNeese State at 7 p.m. Friday and hope for favorable results on the out-of-town scoreboard to earn a trip to next month's tournament at Central Arkansas.
 
"We played a tremendous game," an elated LU coach Orlando Cervantes said after Wednesday's victory. "We put it all together tonight. I know that's the way we are capable of playing."
 
LU goalkeeper Lauren Lovejoy made 10 saves to give her a school-record 150 saves for the season, surpassing the previous mark of 147 set by Kelsie Binetti in 2007. Lovejoy made seven saves, including a pair of larcenous stops in the second half to preserve the LU victory.
 
"Lauren played one of her best games of the season," Cervantes said. "We knew HBU would be pushing the attack in the second half, and she was up to the task."
 
LU raced out a 2-0 lead in the first half against the Huskies (9-5-1, 7-3-0), as HBU saw its hopes for a regular-season title come to an end.
 
Alexus Aviles gave LU a 1-0 lead with 30:37 remaining in the first half when she took a cross from Morgan Burden and blasted it past HBU goalkeeper Alanis Guevara for her ninth of the season.
 
Jannet Hernandez pushed the LU lead to 2-0 with 3:37 remaining in the half when she scored on a penalty kick for her first goal of the season. Hernandez extended her school record with her fifth career penalty-kick goal.
 
The Huskies broke Lovejoy's shutout with 11:16 remaining in the second half when Lovejoy stopped Sabriah Spencer's shot, but couldn't corral the rebound. Ellee Hall pounced on the loose ball and put it into the cage for her fourth of the season.
 
The Huskies threatened after that, but Lovejoy came up with enormous saves to stymie HBU's Allison Abendschein and Spencer in the final minutes to preserve the win.
 
"We gave ourselves a chance to get in the tournament," Cervantes said. "We just have to take care and business on Friday and see what happens."