BEAUMONT, Texas – Entering this weekend, the Southeastern Louisiana Lady Lions are in a spot the Lamar University Cardinals want to be, namely holding on to one of the six berths in next month's Southland Conference Women's Soccer Tournament.
 
The Cardinals (1-11-1 overall, 0-4-1 Southland) have a chance to slice into the Lady Lions' advantage when they host Southeastern Louisiana (5-7-1, 2-3-0) at 7 p.m. Friday at the LU Soccer Complex. Southeastern Louisiana is in the sixth, and final spot, with six points, five ahead of the Cardinals, with six games to play.
 
"We know what's in front of us," LU coach Steve Holeman said. "We can't look ahead. We just have to take it one game at a time. We're motivated to get that first win in conference play."
 
LU comes in off a pair of tough one-goal losses on the road last weekend, falling to league-leading Stephen F. Austin by a 1-0 score on Friday before seeing Sam Houston State rally for a 3-2 overtime victory on Sunday.
 
"When you have only two healthy subs, those Sunday games are tough," Holeman said. "But I am proud of this team and their mentality. They're not hanging their heads. They are working even harder. They want to win and find a way to get into the Southland Conference Tournament."
 
M.J. Eckart, who gave the Cardinals an early 1-0 lead at Sam Houston State on Sunday, continues to lead the Cardinals in scoring with 10 points and in goals with five. Jordan Mulnix, who led the Cardinals in scoring last season with 12 goals and 28 points, has scored in two of LU's last three games.
 
Junior Lauren Lovejoy is expected to make her third straight start in goal for the Cardinals. This season, Lovejoy has a 2.41 goals-against average and a .750 save percentage.
 
Southeastern Louisiana, which won the Southland Conference Tournament last year, will be playing its first road game under the direction of interim coach Matt Muia, who took over the reins from Blake Hornbuckle last week. Muia is 1-1 after the Lady Lions played two games at home last weekend, falling to Houston Baptist 2-1 before posting a 1-0 overtime win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
 
Sofia Olsson leads the Lady Lions in scoring with 11 points on five goals and one assist. Senior goalkeeper Hope Sabadash, a preseason all-conference selection, has played every second in net this season, putting up a 1.43 goals-against average with three shutouts and an .808 save percentage.
 
The all-time series is even, with each team winning five games. Last year, the Lady Lions roared out to a 3-0 lead at home before holding on for a 3-2 win. LU has a 2-1 advantage in games played in Beaumont. LU coach Steve Holeman is 2-0 against Southeastern Louisiana, picking up wins in 1995 and 1998 while coaching at Ole Miss.
 
Following the game against Southeastern Louisiana, the Cardinals are idle until 7 p.m. Oct. 14 when they play at Abilene Christian to open the final road trip of the season. The final away game of the regular season is set for 1 p.m. Oct. 16 at Incarnate Word. After that, LU has three home games to end the season, hosting Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at 7 p.m. Oct. 21, Houston Baptist at 1 p.m. Oct. 23, and McNeese at 7 p.m. Oct. 28.
 
The Southeastern Louisiana game is the annual Power of Pink Game to benefit awareness of breast-cancer research. Pink T-shirts will be distributed to fans, courtesy of 5 Point Credit Union. In addition, pink baked goods will be sold, with proceeds benefiting breast-cancer research.
 
For ticket information for all LU home games, please call 409-880-1715, or CLICK HERE.