BEAUMONT, Texas – Hitting the road with a perfect Southland Conference record on the line, Lamar University's women's soccer team continues its defense of its 2017 SLC regular season crown on Friday with a game at Sam Houston State. That'll be followed by a game at Stephen F. Austin on Sunday.
 
THE LAST TIME OUT – CENTRAL ARKANSAS AND NORTHWESTERN STATE
 
Central Arkansas
Senior Rubi Villegas scored two goals to lead Lamar University to a 3-1 victory over Central Arkansas in the Southland Conference opener Friday evening at the LU Soccer Complex. The game, which was played in rainy conditions for the full 90 minutes, was LU's first game since defeating UTSA on Sept. 7^th (Big Red's last two games were canceled due to weather).
 
"It's tough when you have two weeks off without a game, but we came out with a lot of energy tonight," said LU head coach Steve Holeman. "We knew (Central) Arkansas was going to be a fantastic team and our girls were raring to go. UCA's talent showed by the statistics. They're a deep, athletic team and very dangerous. This was a big win for us."
 
Northwestern State
In a game that featured 19 fouls, two yellow cards, and 39 combined shot attempts, Lamar University's soccer team came out on top with a 1-0 shutout of Northwestern State. The Cardinal goalie Sandra Nygard had 11 saves enroute to an SLC Goalkeeper of the Week award, and Anna Loftus scored the second goal of her career to put Big Red over the top.

"It was a hard-fought win but a win none-the-less," said head coach Steve Holeman. "Credit to Northwestern State, who was very good today. We were fortunate in the first half to not be down a goal or maybe two; they outworked us and outplayed us and to go into halftime knotted at 0-0 favored us and gave us a chance to regroup and talk about some things. We were better in the second half, we got more into our game, and on a Sunday game in the heat like this we had to be able to control the ball and limit chances. Sandra had a really nice game as well. At the end of the day, sometimes you just have to grind out wins."
 
THIS WEEK – SAM HOUSTON STATE AND STEPHEN F. AUSTIN
 
Lamar at Sam Houston State – Sept. 28 at 7 p.m.
The Bearkats of Sam Houston State is 1-7-2 overall on the year and 0-2-1 in Southland play. Of mutual opponents, Lamar holds a 2-1 record against Oral Roberts, Houston, and Central Arkansas, and Sam Houston owns an 0-3 record.
 
Tom Brown is in his 11th season as the head coach of SHSU, holding an 81-107-19 record. Brown is a 26-year veteran of the coaching world including 11 years at Angelo State and two years apiece at Sterling (Kan.) and William Carey. His overall coaching record is 211-225-42.
 
As a team, Sam Houston State leads the SLC in yellow cards with 11 in 2018. The Bearkats are averaging less than a goal per game, 11th in the conference, and allowing about 1.879 goals a game, also 11th in the league.
 
Goalie Christina Hendershot ranks near the middle of the league in saves per game, averaging 4.89, and her 44 total saves are the third-most in the Southland. Courtney Pawlik is tied for the SLC lead in yellow cards with 3, and Sammi Mayock has two, the third-most in the conference. Lindsey Bienski is one of just five Bearkats with a goal this season; she leads the team with two.
 
Lamar at Stephen F. Austin – Sept. 30 at 1 p.m.
Stephen F. Austin is 3-4-1 this year overall and 1-1-1 in SLC play. Of two teams that Lamar has played this season (Houston and Northwestern State), SFA holds a 1-0 record with a win over Northwestern State and an exhibition win over Houston.
 
Wally Crittenden is in his sixth season as the head coach of the Ladyjacks, his sole head coaching stop so far. He holds a 69-31-8 record overall and a 47-8-4 SLC mark in that time.
 
SFA is averaging .50 goals a game, the lowest mark in the SLC, while attempting 10.63 shots a game, 10th in the league. The Ladyjacks do have a high-powered defense though with four shutouts in eight games, a .500 shutout percentage, which ranks second in the conference.
 
Katelyn Termini ranks fourth in the conference in game-winning goals with two this year, and she is one of just three Ladyjacks with a goal in 2018. Mari Gillespie and Sophia Fondren each have one goal.
 
Madeline Talbot ranks third in the SLC in goals-against-average (1.059) and fifth in save percentage (.792).
 
UP NEXT
 
Lamar will return to the LU Soccer Complex for a game against Southeastern Louisiana (Oct. 5) before hitting the road again for games at Nicholls (Oct. 7), at Incarnate Word (Oct. 12), and at Abilene Christian (Oct. 14). The Cards will play just two more home games, Houston Baptist (Oct. 19) and A&M-Corpus Christi (Oct. 21) before closing the regular season at McNeese (Oct. 26). The SLC Tournament, hosted by Lamar at the LU Soccer Complex, will take place Oct. 31 through Nov. 4.