CONWAY, Ark. - Lamar University soccer will look to continue their tremendous campaign this season, following a 6-2 demolition of Stephen F. Austin in the first round of the Southland Conference Championships. The Cardinals will face off against No. 5 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the semifinal this Friday evening at the Bill Stephens Track and Soccer Complex.
The Cardinals couldn't have hoped for a better start to the SLC tournament on Wednesday evening. Winners of the tournament two years ago, they started the game in full flow. A barrage of goals rained in on the SFA goal in the first half, with Big Red leading 4-0 at half time.
Esther Okoronkwo cemented herself atop of the NCAA rankings for the leading goal scorer this season, tallying three goals to her name in just the first half.
The flood gates opened early in the first half following an early SFA mistake; the 'Jacks allowed a ball to slip past the goalkeeper giving LU the early lead. The Cardinals promptly went on the attack looking to strengthen their lead, and star player Okoronkwo did just that two minutes later, taking a perfectly timed pass from junior
Juana Plata to bury the shot in the top right corner of the net.
The score remained 2-0 for the next 14 minutes before Okoronkwo was back on the scoresheet. This time connecting with junior
Madison Ledet to give the Cardinals a thoroughly deserved 3-0 advantage. Okoronkwo secured the hat trick in the first when she added another goal less than two minutes later to give the Cardinals a commanding 4-0 lead at the intermission.
Lucy Ashworth once again played a pivotal role in yesterday's game, Ashworth etched her 15th assist of the season when she connected for Okonoronko's fourth goal of the match in the second half.
Anna Loftus put the game to sleep with a well worked goal to secure a famous 6-2 victory. Unsurprisingly, the Cardinals emphatic score line meant records tumbled, Okonronko's goal haul witnessed her set the SLC record for single-season goals (23), tourney single-game goals (4) and tourney single-game points (8). Ashworth's 15th assist meant she has earned the SLC record for single season assists.
Friday evenings match up against No.5 A&M-Corpus Christi (9-8-2, 6-4-1 Conf) comes only two weeks since the two teams matched up. The Cardinals prevailed 2-0 winners in the last game and will look to maintain their 10-game winning streak. A&M Corpus-Christi progressed to the semifinal following a penalty shootout win against No.4 UIW. The winner of Friday's game will match up against either No.2 Northwestern State or No.6 McNesse who are contesting the other semifinal. The Southland Conference tournament final will take place on Sunday., Nov. 10 at 1:05 P.M and the winning team will progress to the 2019 NCAA regional round.
