SAN MARCOS, Texas – Mari Olastuen set a Lamar University women's soccer single-season record with her sixth assist of the year, but it wasn't enough for the Cardinals in a 4-2 loss to host Texas State in a non-conference game Sunday afternoon.
 
Olastuen's record-setting day was overshadowed by Texas State's Lauren Prater, who scored three goals for her first career hat trick.
 
Prater gave Texas State (6-2-0) a 1-0 lead at the 16:50 mark of the first half, but the Cardinals (5-5-0) tied the game when Olastuen established the assist record by setting up Alexus Aviles with a nifty pass with 16:05 remaining in the opening half. It was the team-leading eighth goal of the campaign.
 
Olastuen bettered the previous mark of five shared by Kristin Bos, Lisa Hance and Lisa Topping.
 
Texas State took control of the contest with three straight goals. Prater scored a pair of goals 56 seconds apart 16 minutes into the second half to give the Bobcats a 3-1 lead before Ali Jones scored a little more than nine minutes later to make it 4-1.
 
"We had a 10-minute stretch that cost us," LU coach Orlando Cervantes said. "We might some mistakes and they made us pay for them. That's what good teams do."
 
LU's Patricia Lauritzen scored just 29 seconds after Jones' goal to cut the deficit to 4-2 with 18:14 remaining, but the Cardinals could get no closer. LU had a glittering opportunity to make it 4-3 just a few minutes after Lauritzen's fifth goal of the season, but Marie Lund's shot skimmed off the top of the crossbar.
 
"We did some good things today," Cervantes said. We never quit. Who knows what happens if Marie's shot goes in?"
 
The two goals matched the most goals the Bobcats allowed in a game this season. Texas State has surrendered just six goals this fall.
 
"Our offense is getting better," Cervantes said. "We just have to learn that's the way we need to play the entire game. We can't be the type of team that falls back. We have to keep pushing forward."
 
Sunday's contest marked the final non-conference game of the regular season for the Cardinals. Despite the loss, Cervantes saw plenty of positive things to take away from the game.
 
"That's a very athletic team we played today, and we stayed with them," Cervantes said. "Teams like Texas State definitely get us ready for the rest of our Southland Conference schedule.
 
LU, which opened conference play with a 1-0 win over Nicholls on Friday, has a pair of conference road contests next weekend. The Cardinals are at Northwestern State at 7 p.m. Friday and at Central Arkansas at 1 p.m. Sept. 27. The next home game for the Cardinals is 7 p.m. Oct. 2 against Stephen F. Austin at the LU Soccer Complex in the annual Power of Pink game to raise awareness for breast cancer research.