BEAUMONT, Texas - Just five games remain in the regular season as Lamar University's soccer team hits the road for two Southland Conference matches. The Cardinals will play at UIW on Friday at 5 p.m. and at Abilene Christian on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Assisting the Cards on their journey this week will be all three SLC Players of the Week. Kelso Peskin took the Offensive honors, Sophia Manibo captured the Defensive award, and Sandra Nygard was named Goalie of the Week.

THE LAST TIME OUT - SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA AND NICHOLLS

Southeastern Louisiana
After 110 minutes of action, Friday night's game between Lamar University and Southeastern Louisiana ended the way it began in a scoreless tie. For the Cardinals (7-3-2/3-0-2 Southland), it was the second tie in the past three games and the fourth overtime game in the last six.
 
"I thought it was a tremendous effort from our ladies," said LU head coach Steve Holeman. "We've had to call upon a lot players who had not been receiving a lot of playing time because we're pretty thin right now. I think there are a lot of positives we can take from this game. We had several players forced to play out of position tonight but they really stepped up. I think our ability to come away with a shutout tonight is a positive.
 
"Where we can become better is the fact that we had a lot of missed opportunities. We hit a lot of balls to their keeper so we have to be better in the final third," added Holeman.
 
The stats were just as evened up as the final score. The Lions (5-4-2/2-2-2 SLC) outshot LU by only one, 23-22, but the Cardinals recorded one more save than their guests, 8-7. Fouls were also fairly even as the Red and White were called for nine and Southeastern earned seven.

Nicholls
Though it took several weeks longer than originally planned, Lamar University's women's soccer team finally got a victory over Nicholls State University with a 2-0 shutout on Sunday. The Cards and Colonels had originally been scheduled to face each other on Sept. 14, but a rainout forced the postponement of the match to Oct. 7.

"This was a very hard fought win. Nicholls is a lot better than their record would indicate. It wasn't our best soccer but our effort was very good. It will be nice to get some much needed rest and get some of our players healthy," said head coach Steve Holeman. "We scored two good goals today and Sandra made some nice saves to keep us in the game."

THIS WEEK - UIW AND ACU

Lamar at UIW - Oct. 12 at 5 p.m.
UIW is 2-8-1 this season, including 2-3-1 in Southland Conference play. The "other" Cardinals have wins over Nicholls and at A&M-Corpus Christi and a tie against Southeastern Louisiana, and lost 3-1 at Northwestern State and 6-0 at Central Arkansas.

Emma Wright-Cates is in her first season with The University of the Incarnate Word. She came to UIW after coaching stints at George Washington, Christian Brothers University, and Southeastern Louisiana.

UIW has scored just seven goals this season while allowing 28, being outscored by an average of just under two goals a game. UIW's Cards attempt 9.6 shots a game with about half of those ending up on-goal.

Taylor Husfield leads UIW with two goals on the year; she's one of six Cardinals with a goal. Andrea Reyes has the most assists (two), and three keepers have split time in the net with Sydney Huntsinger pacing the team with seven starts and 33 saves.

Lamar at ACU - Oct. 14 at 1 p.m.
The Wildcats are 8-4-1 this year and 3-2-1 in league play with an overtime loss at Houston Baptist, 1-0 wins over Southeastern and Nicholls, a 2-1 loss at Central Arkansas, a 3-0 win at Northwestern State, and a 2 OT tie at A&M-Corpus Christi.

Casey Wilson is the only head coach in the history of the ACU women's soccer program, and holds an impressive 126-85-19 record in that time. Wilson is a 1999 graduate of ACU as well.

ACU has scored 17 goals this season while allowing just eight on the year, and is outscoring opponents by about a goal a game. The Wildcats average 17.8 shots a game while their opponents take 11.2 shots a game, and their 89 fouls are 16 less than their opponents.

Christina Arteaga leads her team with 12 points this season - four goals and four assists. Dylan Owens also has four goals on the year and assisted on two more, and eight other Wildcats have scored a goal this year.

Rachel Johnson is one of the best goalies in the NCAA, allowing less than half a goal a game. She has 46 saves this year with a .920 save percentage, and she has five shutouts just in 2018. She holds a 5-2-1 record between the posts.