BEAUMONT, Texas – The two highest-scoring teams in the Southland Conference clash Friday night when the Lamar University Cardinals visit the Southeastern Lady Lions in a crucial women's soccer game at Strawberry Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
 
LU (6-8-0 overall, 2-3-0 Southland) leads the Southland Conference with 37 goals, the second-highest total in the nation. Southeastern Louisiana's 34 goals are second in the conference and fourth in the nation.
 
The Cardinals are clinging to the sixth, and final, berth in the Southland Conference Tournament with six regular-season games remaining. The Lady Lions (8-3-1, 3-2-0) are tied with Central Arkansas, one spot ahead of the Cardinals in the standings.
 
Both teams come into Friday's games off of tough weekends. LU dropped a pair of 1-0 home decisions, falling to conference-leading Stephen F. Austin on Friday and second-place Sam Houston State on Sunday. Southeastern Louisiana saw its seven-game unbeaten string (6-0-1) snapped with a 1-0 overtime loss at Houston Baptist followed by a 2-1 loss at previously winless Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
 
Friday's game will mark the first time this season the Cardinals have played on artificial turf, as the Lady Lions are using Strawberry Stadium, Southeastern Louisiana's football stadium, as a temporary home while the Southeastern Soccer Complex, which features a natural-grass field, is being renovated.
 
"It's going to be a different game on turf. It's going to be much faster," LU coach Orlando Cervantes said. "We plan on practicing on the turf at Provost Umphrey Stadium on Thursday to get used to it."
 
Friday's game will feature the top four point producers in the Southland Conference. Southeastern Louisiana's Gisenia Utreras leads the SLC with 23 points on eight goals and seven assists. LU student-athletes are in the next three spots. Jordan Mulnix has 17 points on seven goals and three assists, while Alexus Aviles has 17 points on eight goals and one assist. LU's Mari Olastuen is fourth with 15 points on four goals and a school-record seven assists.
 
"We're going to have to play good defense, there's no doubt about that," Cervantes said. "We've done that in the last two games, but we had a bad mistake cost us each time. We have to eliminate those mistakes and capitalize on any mistakes they make."
 
Cervantes knows his team has to get its scoring touch back.
 
"I watched the video from Sunday's loss to Sam Houston State, and I can't believe the ball didn't go into the net on some of the opportunities we had," Cervantes said. "We're getting the chances. We just have to finish them."
 
With the number of goals the two teams have combined for this fall, it could be a busy day for the goalkeepers. LU's Lauren Lovejoy, who has started all 14 games for the Cardinals this season, is third in the nation with 98 saves, just one behind national co-leaders Romina Kunze of St. Francis (Pa.) and Olivia Swenson of North Dakota. Lovejoy has a 2.26 goals-against average and a .766 save percentage this season, improving those numbers in Southland play with a 1.80 goals-against average and a save percentage of .833.
 
Southeastern Louisiana's Hope Sabadash has played every second in goal for the Lady Lions this season, posting a 0.90 goals-against average and a save percentage of .784. Sabadash has not been as busy as Lovejoy, making just 40 saves on the season.
 
The Cardinals will have a week between games after Friday, as they return to action at 7 p.m. Oct. 16 when they host Abilene Christian on Senior Night. LU closes out its home schedule at 1 p.m. Oct. 18 when Incarnate Word comes to the LU Soccer Complex.