CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - Under the Friday night lights in Corpus Christi, three major milestones were achieved for the Lamar University women's soccer team. Goalkeeper Nicole Panis set a new school record in the 51st minute as she would record her 329th career save passing the mark of Bailey Fontenot. With a 1-0 victory, the Cardinals (13-2-2, 8-0-1) not only set a new program record for shutouts in a season but have repeated as Southland Conference regular season champions by clinching at least a share of the title.
Hollie Massey would score the lone goal of match making it six for her on the season to lead LU. Arely Alaniz picked up the assist on the goal. In total, the Cardinals provided a wave of 15 shots while withstanding five as 11 of the shots were on goal. Panis' record-breaking save was the only save she would make in the match.
Big Red wasted no time applying early offensive pressure as they would put up nine shots in the first half. It wouldn't be until the 21st minute when Massey delivered a corner kick to Alaniz, who returned it to the Cheshire, England native to strike a laser into the net for a 1-0 lead.
As the second half began, Panis would set the record with a free kick save in the 51st minute. LU put up six shots while the Islanders had two more chances to equalize. TAMU-CC came so close to tying as in the 77th minute, a shot deflected off the post and then the rebound went wide left. That would be the closest the Islanders would get to scoring as LU secured their conference title.
This marks the fourth regular title in program history as the Cardinals previously won in 2017, 2019, and 2022. "I can't say enough about how proud I am of this group and what they've accomplished so far this fall," admits head coach Nathan Kogut. "Clinching at least a share of the title when you're getting everyone's best shot week after week shows how resilient this team is. We are excited about this moment but really looking to Friday to win the league outright."
With Texas A&M-Commerce defeating Nicholls on Friday night and having another game on Sunday, the Cardinals now find themselves still up six points in the standings. A loss or a tie by TAMU-C against UIW on Sunday guarantees LU clinching the championship outright. If TAMU-C wins on Sunday, the Cardinals will need to at least tie or defeat Southeastern Louisiana next Friday night at 7 pm. In addition, Big Red will also be honoring six seniors for their senior night.
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