DENTON, Texas – The Lamar Cardinals couldn't overcome a slow start in a 6-0 loss to the host North Texas Mean Green in a non-conference women's soccer game Friday night.
 
North Texas (6-1-0), which received votes in the national poll earlier this season, took a 1-0 lead just 3:27 into the game and never looked back. The Mean Green made it a busy night for LU goalkeeper Lauren Lovejoy, who faced a season-high 39 shots, North Texas had a 39-2 advantage in shots, including a 14-1 edge in shots on goal.
 
Rachel Holden opened the scoring for North Texas, collecting a carom off a LU defender and blasting a shot past Lovejoy. The Mean Green made it 2-0 with 15:10 remaining in the first half as Karla Pineda scored the first of her two goals on the evening.
 
That was all the scoring in the first half, as the Cardinals tightened up defensively for the remainder of the period.
 
"The total shots are deceptive because North Texas took a lot of long shots," Cervantes said. "Unfortunately, every time we made a mistake they seemed to capitalize."
 
The Cardinals (3-4-0) came out inspired to start the second half, but were unable to turn their determination into many good scoring chances, as North Texas goalkeeper Jackie Kerestine needed to make just one save on the night, stopping Jordan Mulnix in the opening minutes of the second half.
 
North Texas withstood LU's early second-half rush and responded with two goals within a span of 4:28 to put the game away. Marchelle Davis made it 3-0 with an unassisted tally with 28:38 remaining before Pineda made it 4-0 at the 65:50 mark as she scored off a cross from Holden.
 
Lovejoy finished with eight saves for the Cardinals.
 
"Their coach told me that we really played well at the start of the second half," Cervantes said. "That makes me feel a little better. But we have to do it for 90 minutes. We have the talent, but we have to learn to fight through adversity."
 
Tori Phillips and Amber Haggerty scored for the Mean Green in the final minutes to close out the scoring.
 
"We had the game plan in place, but we got away from it," Cervantes said. "When we make a mistake we try to atone for it by trying to do too much. That leads to more mistakes."
 
The Cardinals attempt to bounce back from Friday's loss when they host Alcorn State at 1 p.m. Sunday at the LU Soccer Complex. Sunday is youth day, with all youth soccer players receiving free admission when they wear their soccer uniform to the game.
 
"We're going to be OK," Cervantes said. "We're young and we have the talent. It's just a matter of time before it all comes together."