BEAUMONT, Texas - Breaking two program records in just the first half, Lucy Ashworth paced Lamar University (4-5, 1-0 SLC) in their rout of Nicholls State University (3-4-1, 0-1 SLC). The Cardinals beat the Colonels 6-0 on Saturday in the Southland Conference opener for both teams.

"She had a phenomenal game," said head coach Steve Holeman. "She was very efficient in her shooting and scoring today, and it was great to see her capitalize on her opportunities. I know that last weekend she didn't score as much as she'd like on the opportunities she created. It was good we were able to rest her as well. It was a great team win, we were able to clear the bench, and preserve the shutout."

Ashworth scored four goals and had an assist in the first half and one assist in the second half before calling it a night, doing all her damage in just 43 minutes of play. The program's previous record for goals scored in a single game was three, done by seven Cardinals including Juliana Ocampo, Kelso Peskin, and Madison Ledet in 2018. Big Red's individual record for points in a game was seven points - done three times including by Peskin on Oct. 21, 2018 against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

Though the game featured over 20 shots by Big Red, LU wasn't aggressive to open the game. Nicholls fired the lone shot in the first seven minutes - a dribbler that Sandra Nygard easily saved. The Colonels also out-fouled Lamar early on with three fouls to zero by the Cards in the first 15 minutes.

All that changed when Ashworth got her first offensive opportunity with just about seven minutes off the clock. The junior from Manchester, England, crossed to Ali Hebert on the right side of the net and Hebert immediately crossed it back. Ashworth had her first shot rebound off the goalie before collecting the board herself. Ashworth booted it in and put LU up 1-0.

Lamar smelled blood in the water after that first goal and quickly picked up the urgency, firing off five shots in the next 10 minutes including the second goal of the game. Hebert looked downfield and saw Esther Okoronkwo charging the goal and deftly placed the ball at her feet. Okoronkwo danced in front of the goal and looked as if she'd call her own number, but the junior from Richmond, Texas, instead passed to Ashworth last second and Ashworth used a soft touch to score. Lamar led 2-0 through the 17th minute.

Ashworth decided to feature someone else offensively in the third Cardinal goal after two of her on-goal shots were saved by the Colonel keeper. She found Okoronkwo directly in front of the net and crossed the ball to her chest, and Okoronkwo displayed great body control as she avoided the hand ball and bounced the ball into net. Lamar led 3-0 in the 23rd minute.

Hailey Loupe found Ashworth in the 30th minute. The Port Neches, Texas, native fired a pass to Ashworth over 20 yards downfield and Ashworth took just three steps before shooting from 15 yards out. The ball found netting and put Lamar up 3-0.

Okoronkwo earned her second assist of the game in the 33rd minute, again connecting with Ashworth to put LU up 5-0. The Cards fired two more shots in the half but couldn't score again, and through 45 minutes Big Red held a 5-0 lead over Nicholls.

Ashworth's final offensive contribution came 10 minutes into the second half. She found Hebert sprinting downfield and Hebert scored easily. Lamar led 6-0 through 55 minutes.

Lamar took 11 shots in the second half but got past the new Colonel keeper just once - Hebert's score off Ashworth. Nicholls took six shots in the half and had just two on-goal; both were saved by Nygard.

LU returns to action on Sept. 27 at Northwestern State (4-5, 1-0), and will then play at Central Arkansas (1-6-1, 0-1) on Sept. 29 before returning home for Stephen F. Austin (3-5, 0-1) on Oct. 4.