BEAUMONT, Texas - Hitting the road riding a three-game win streak, Lamar University (7-6, 4-1 SLC) will attempt to keep that streak alive Friday in Hammond, La., when the Cardinals play at Southeastern Louisiana (2-9-1, 1-4 SLC). Big Red will play the Lady Lions at Strawberry Stadium and on YouTube at 6 p.m.

Lamar (7-6, 4-1 SLC) at Southeastern Louisiana (2-9-1, 1-4 SLC) - October 11 at 6 p.m. - Hammond, La. (Strawberry Stadium)

Southeastern has struggled a bit this season, scoring just one goal in conference play. The Lady Lions were shutout at McNeese and at home against Incarnate Word and Abilene Christian before finally winning a nail-biter 1-0 at Houston Baptist. A 2-0 loss at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi was the fourth shutout loss for SLU this season in conference play. Against non-conference opponents SLU went 1-5-1, outscored 15-5 in those games.

With just one goal in conference play, SLU's offense is one of the lowest ranked in the SLC. They've attempted 37 shots in that time, and 18 of them have been on-goal. 17 of those 18 on-goal shots have been saved by the opposing keeper.

Defensively the Lady Lions are much better than their record shows, averaging just one goal surrendered a game. That mark is better than almost half of the conference, and tied with Lamar's defense. The Southeastern goalies have 31 saves this year with an .861 save percentage, both among the best in the conference.

Nadine Maher has been the only keeper for SLU in conference play, and has played a huge role in keeping her team in games with no more than two goals allowed to any SLC opponent. She's also fourth in minutes played this year in conference play.

The Last Time Out - Stephen F. Austin (Oct. 4) and Sam Houston State (Oct. 6)

Outscoring their opponents 9-1 in a SLC weekend doubleheader, LU made its presence known with big blowout wins over Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston State, taking down the Lady Jacks 4-1 in a rain-shortened venture and the Bearkats 5-0 on a blistering sunny afternoon.

SFA

After delaying the game for over an hour, Lamar University came out with two early goals and earned a big Southland Conference victory over Stephen F. Austin, 4-1, Friday evening at the LU Soccer Complex. The Cardinals dominated the ball and put up 25 shots compared to just nine for the Ladyjacks.
 
"Being cooped up we were eager to get on the field and get this started," said LU head coach Steve Holeman. "After being on the road last week, we were very motivated to be back in front of our fans, and it really energized our team to see that they stuck around for the game. I would say the beginning of game is the best we've played all year."

SHSU

Scoring the winning goal just 58 seconds into the match, Lamar University (7-6, 4-1 SLC) struck early and often in a dominant decision over Sam Houston State (4-6-1, 2-1-1 SLC). The Cards had three goals in the first half and another two in the second to win 5-0 over the Bearkats.

"We challenged our student-athletes coming into this game," said head coach Steve Holeman. "Sam Houston is coming in with momentum, they're undefeated in conference, and they didn't play Friday so they'll be rested. We knew that we had a good rhythm going from Friday night so we challenged our players. Can we better today? Can we start off strong? If we want to be a team to be reckoned with then we have to bring everything. They definitely came through."

Okoronkwo and Manibo Take SLC Weekly Honors

As announced by the league office on Tuesday, Lamar University's Esther Okoronkwo and Sophia Manibo have been recognized in the Southland Conference Women's Soccer weekly awards. Okoronkwo took home SLC Offensive Player of the Week honors, and Manibo was named the SLC Defensive Player of the Week. Sandra Nygard earned Honorable Mention Keeper of the Week.

Okoronkwo took home her first weekly SLC honors by scoring five goals this weekend; three against SFA on Friday and two more against Sam Houston State on Sunday. She also had an assist on Sunday, giving her 11 points in two games with just 128 minutes played. She was extremely accurate in her scoring as well with six of her seven shots on the weekend on frame.

Manibo was a central part of the Cardinal backline's standout effort. LU held oppoents to just one goal in two matches and a .286 shooting percentage. The Ladyjacks put three of their nine shots on goal while the Bearkats' 19 attempts produced just five on goal.

Cardinal Offense Paces SLC and Ranks Among Best in Nation

The Cardinals are an extremely dangerous team offensively, and through this point of the 2019 season have perhaps one of the most dynamic offenses ever under head coach Steve Holeman. LU is first in the SLC and 18th in the country in assists per game (2.31), and their 7.38 points per game are also tops in the league and 13th in the country. The 33 goals Lamar has scored this season are the most in the SLC and the eighth-most in the NCAA.

Individually Lucy Ashworth has equaled the offensive output of most of Southland Conference teams. The junior from Manchester, England, has 11 goals this year, the eighth-most in the country, and she's assists on nine more goals, the third-most assists in the NCAA. Her 31 total points trail only Catarina Macario at Standford and Autumn Woodard at Louisiana Tech.

Just behind Ashworth is teammate and fellow junior Esther Okoronkwo. The Richmond, Texas, native has 11 goals this year and six assists, totaling 28 points. She ranks fifth in the country in total points and is tied with Ashworth at eighth-most goals in the NCAA this year.

Anna Loftus has another six assists, tied with Okoronkwo for the second-most assists this season.

Sandra Nygard's 60 saves so far this season is the second-most in the SLC and the 44th-most by any goalie in the nation.