BEAUMONT, Texas - On a night when nine seniors were honored for their careers in Cardinal Red, Lamar University punched its ticket to the Southland Conference tournament with a scoreless draw against UIW and losses from both Houston Christian and UT Rio Grande Valley.  This means that the Cardinals will have finished the regular season 5-7-6 overall and 3-3-4 in conference play and be the seventh seed in the upcoming tournament.

This was the sixth shutout that LU has recorded this season and the fifth time a match has ended in a scoreless draw.

Big Red outshot UIW 17-7, including 10-4 in shots on goal. Substitutes Anneliese Switzer and Erin Dull each had four shots to lead the Cardinals while Cena Carlson and senior Isela Ramirez had two. Maddie Rich made four saves in goal to preserve the shutout.

Both teams combined for 10 shots in the first half with LU having a 6-4 advantage. The match started slowly as the first 20 minutes only had four shots between the squads. Rich recorded three saves in the half, while UIW's Erica Defferding fended off two scoring chances from LU in the 29th and 36th minutes. Big Red had another pair of opportunities in the 38th minute, but couldn't capitalize.

The second half saw LU take control with 11 shots while holding UIW to a pair of shots. Big Red had a flurry of chances in the 57th minute, including one that ricocheted off the crossbar. After UIW's first shot attempt in the 54th minute, it wouldn't get another shot off for the next 35 minutes. By the time the clock ticked down, LU's postseason dreams had been realized and it would finish the contest with one crucial point to tie with UTRGV in the standings.

LU earned the seventh due to playing Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to a draw while the Islanders defeated the Vaqueros 2-0 Friday. Big Red will open SLC tournament play Tuesday against the No. 2 seed Islanders. The game is set for a 7:00 p.m. kickoff.
 

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