BEAUMONT, Texas - After securing a draw against Texas A&M-Commerce in Beaumont on Sunday, Lamar University's soccer team will look to get close to clinching their second straight Southland Conference regular season title this week as they will travel down south to Corpus Christi to meet the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders. The Cardinals will kickoff with the Islanders at 7:00 p.m.

A 2-2 Thriller
The Cardinals battled Texas A&M-Commerce to a 2-2 draw in Beaumont on Sunday afternoon. After trailing 1-0 in the first half, the Cardinals responded with a goal from Alana Clark. Then, with five minutes left to go and down 2-1, Maddie Janolo netted the equalizer with assists from Cariel Ellis and Hollie Massey. 
 

No Longer Winners, But Still Undefeated
While LU's 11-match winning streak ended one shy of tying the all-time program mark of 12, they still have a 12-match undefeated streak in play. That does match the program record of 12 held by the 2017 and 2019 squads for most all-time.

A New 328?
Nicole Panis picked up six saves in the draw against TAMU-C, which now puts her at 328 career saves. This ties the all-time mark previously held by Bailey Fontenot. Panis needs one save to become the school's all-time record holder. 

Southland Standings Update
With the 2-2 draw, the Cardinals (7-0-1, 22 points) still maintain a six-point lead on the Lions (5-1-1, 16 points) for first place in the SLC standings. The Lions though have three games left to play in their season while LU has two. This weekend, AMC takes on Nicholls and UIW. Meanwhile, McNeese (4-1-2) tied their match with Southeastern, which puts them at 14 points in the standings. They have two matches this weekend against UIW and AMCC, who have 13 points and are out the hopes of clinching the conference title. 

LU can clinch the title this weekend with one of the following scenarios.

• LU win over AMU-CC + AMU-C loss/tie to Nicholls or AMU-C loss/tie to UIW + McNeese loss/tie to UIW or McNeese loss/tie to AMU-CC. 
• LU draw with AMU-CC + AMU-C loss to Nicholls or UIW + McNeese loss/tie to UIW or AMU-CC. 
• LU loss to AMU-CC + AMU-C loss to Nicholls or UIW + McNeese loss/tie to UIW or AMU-CC. 

History vs. Islanders
LU enters their 13th match all-time against AMU-CC with a 9-3 all-time record. The Cardinals swept their two matches with the Islanders last season. In Beaumont, LU won 1-0 (9/11/22) thanks to a penalty kick goal by Eva Karen in the 33rd minute. Then one month later in Corpus Christi, the Cardinals clinched the regular season title with a 2-1 victory. Arely Alaniz scored the game-winner for the Cardinals in the 89th minute. 

Meet the Islanders
The Islanders are 7-6-3 overall and 4-3-1 in conference play after being shutout 2-0 to Northwestern State. Mai-Lisa Atis leads with four goals while Megan Guy has 10 points (three goals, four assists), which tops the Islanders. Other three goal scorers include Olivia Hughes, Rachel Loetzer, and Maggie Murray. In goal, Zoe Theriot has 38 saves and a 1.32 goals against average while Kennedy Stelling has 31 saves and a 1.57 GAA. 

Next Up For LU
The Cardinals host Southeastern next Friday night, Oct. 27th at 7:00 p.m. for the regular season finale. It will also be senior night.