ABILENE, Texas – Abilene Christian scored three goals in the first 24 minutes of the game and held on in the second half to defeat Lamar University, 3-0, Sunday afternoon at Elmer Gray Stadium. The setback ended a 19-game unbeaten streak for the Cardinals dating back to last season.
 
The contest which was originally scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. had to be moved to a noon start due to the threat of weather in the Abilene area.
 
The Wildcats ended the day with 17-10 advantage in shots taken, including eight shots on goal. Big Red put themselves in good position to get several looks at the net with an 8-3 advantage in corner kicks but was unable to convert.
 
"Abilene was extremely efficient to start the game today," said LU head coach Steve Holeman. "They scored on three of their first four shots. We had a miscue on a corner kick on their first goal and their second goal came from a direct free kick where the ACU player struck the ball well, but I felt our position to defend the kick was a little off. We will have to go back to the film and take a look.
 
"Obviously, we're not happy with the outcome, but ACU is a very talented team and they did a good job limiting our chances. We know that we played a good team and that our effort was there, and as a coach you can walk away with that. They made it tough on us and they got the result," added Holeman.
 
ACU jumped on the board just five minutes into the game when Brooke Lenz scored on a pass from Dylan Owen. The Wildcats' Michelle Mulrooney added to the lead minutes later. The Wildcats tacked on their final goal in the game's 24^th minute.
 
The game would turn into a defensive struggle for the final 66 minutes as neither team could crack the scoreboard.
 
Freshman goalkeeper Sandra Nygard got the start and played all 90 minutes. She finished the game with five saves.
 
The Cardinals will now turn their attention to Houston Baptist who enters the day as the Southland's leader in the standings. The game against the Huskies will begin at 7 p.m. from the LU Soccer Complex.
 
"Our girls are aware we had an amazing 19-game unbeaten streak in conference play," said Holeman. "But it has come to an end and we need to start a new one. We can learn from this game and move forward. We have to put this one behind us and get focused on Houston Baptist."