THIBODAUX, La. – 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."
 
Scoreless through 28 minutes, Kelso Peskin put Lamar out front for good in the 29th minute. Madison Ledet dribbled down the field and found Peskin near the box. Peskin received the ball and used some fancy footwork to beat a Colonel defender before slamming a shot home in the upper right corner of the net. The goal is Peskin's sixth of the season, and the score gave Ledet her team-leading fifth assist of the year.
 
Nicholls would attempt eight shots before the halftime buzzer sounded, but LU's backline made sure not even one of them came close enough for Big Red's goalie, Sandra Nygard, to have to save a shot. After 45 minutes on the pitch Lamar led 1-0.
 
The Colonels played a bit more aggressively as time started to run out, out-shooting Lamar nine to six in the second period, but Nygard was unassailable in the net with five saves. It appeared the game would remain a 1-0 shutout despite five of Lamar's six shots in the final 45 being on-goal, but Lamar added to its advantage in the 86th minute, once again thanks to the fabulous footwork of Peskin. The senior from Cape Town, South Africa, dribbled down the field and found Ali Hebert on the right side of the box. Hebert shot across the Nicholls goalie and into the top left corner, putting Lamar out front 2-0 with just under five minutes left. The Colonels would attempt a corner and two more shots in the closing seconds, but Nygard and the backline stood their ground, keeping Nicholls off the scoreboard.
 
Lamar returns to action on Friday, Oct. 12 in the second game of its three-game Southland Conference road trip. The Cards will play at UIW at 5 p.m. That match will be followed by the road trip's finale at Abilene Christian on Sunday, Oct. 14. Just two home games remain for Big Red, Houston Baptist on Oct. 19 and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Oct. 21.