BEAUMONT, Texas - After dominating the regular season to claim the number one overall seed in the Southland Conference Tournament, Lamar University is set to defend their conference championship. They will open their tournament run with a Friday night matchup against No. 4 seed Northwestern State at 7:00 p.m.

Last Match
The Cardinals closed out the regular season with a 4-1 win over Southeastern Lousiana. Cariel Ellis scored twice in the first five minutes on her first two shots of the match while also assisting on a goal to Isela Ramirez. Ellis would be named Southland Offensive Player of the Week for her performance. Kaisa Juvonen also had a goal and assisted in the match. 

All-Conference 10
Big Red received a school record 10 all-conference honors, which set a new school record and also tied the conference record for most in a single season. There were seven first teamers including SLC Player of the Year Hollie Massey, Goalkeeper of the Year Nicole Panis, Defender of the Year Arely Alaniz, Midfielder of the Year Alana Clark, Cariel Ellis, Isela Ramirez, and Kaisa Juvonen. LU also had three second teamers including Caragan Childs, Trinity Clark, and Maddie Janolo. The 2023 Cardinals share the conference record for most in a season with the 2021 Northwestern State Demons. 

#1 Seed Again? Uh-Oh!
This is the fourth time LU won the regular season conference title in program history. The previous three times came in 2017, 2019, and 2022. Ironically, all three seasons saw LU claim the double by winning the conference tournament and advancing to the NCAA Tournament. 

Previously against Northwestern State
The Cardinals pulled out a 1-0 victory over the Demons at home on Oct. 6th. Rafiatu Alhassan scored the winning goal on an assist by Trinity Clark while Panis recorded three saves in goal. All-time, LU is 11-5-2 against NSU. 

How Did You Get Here Demons?
The Demons finished as the fourth seed with a 4-5-1 conference record to go with their 6-10-2 overall record. In a thrilling first round match, the Demons scored a late equalizer from Emmé Fernandez, who would then clinch the victory in penalty kicks as the Demons took down Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 1-1 (4-2 PK's) to advance.  

Should the Cardinals Win…
Big Red will advance to the SLC Championship match, which will be on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. They will take on the winner of No. 3 McNeese and No. 7 Houston Christian. 
 

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