THIBODAUX, La. - With
Hollie Massey sparking a second half surge with five second half points by scoring twice and recording an assist, Lamar University's soccer team turned a 1-0 halftime lead into a 5-1 win over Nicholls to stretch their winning streak to seven games. LU remains one of two undefeated teams in conference play at 3-0 to go with their 8-2-1 record.
For Massey, who finished with a team-high five shots, it was her first multi-goal game since February 28th against Houston Christian in the spring of 2021.
Cariel Ellis would record her fifth goal of the season to tie Massey for the team while both
Maddie Janolo and
Kolbi Coleman each recorded their first goals of the season. In total, LU outshot the Colonels 23-3.
While the Colonels recorded the first shot of the match, the Cardinals wasted no time creating open opportunities beginning with the 12th minute on. It would Big Red's fourth shot that led to Ellis scoring her fifth goal of the season in the 17th minute. LU would finish the half outshooting Nicholls 13-1.
What happened to start the second half set in motion an onslaught of four goals in a span of eight minutes. After drawing a penalty in the box, Massey would convert the penalty kick for a 2-0 lead. 17 seconds later, she found herself with the ball and was able to strike her second consecutive goal and her fifth of the year. In the 55th minute, Janolo would receive a pass from Massey and struck her first goal of the season while four minutes passed before Coleman struck her first of the year to extend LU's lead to 5-0.
The Cardinals' defense continued to apply pressure. But with 46 seconds to play, the Nicholls would break the shutout with a goal to make it 5-1. Still, LU exited the field with a seven-match winning streak going into Sunday's match.
"It really was a tale of two halves for us tonight," said head coach
Nathan Kogut. "A ton of credit goes to Nicholls, who made things very difficult for us for large chunks of the game. We weren't sharp enough in the first half. I am very pleased with the way we responded in the second half and how much better we played. We scored some good goals and created solid chances. We know we need to be better on Sunday evening but we are happy to get another road win."
LU will now set their sights on Southeastern for a 5:00 p.m., meeting against the Lions in Hammond, La.
