BEAUMONT, Texas - Lamar University battled with the reigning Southland Conference champion Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks for 90 hard-fought minutes, but came away with a 1-1 draw Sunday at the LU Soccer Complex. The Cardinals have now been undefeated for 15 consecutive home SLC contests dating back to 2022.
Lauren Smith scored off a free-kick for her 10th goal of the season. This was Smith's fourth consecutive game with a goal and fifth in six contests. She's also the first Cardinal to score in double-figures since
Christine Kitaru and
Cariel Ellis achieved the feat in 2022. Freshman goalkeeper
Eloise Bywater posted six saves, including four in the second half.
Early in the first half, the Ladyjacks (4-2-8, 2-0-3) took control. On its second shot of the match, SFA got on the board with a goal from Taylor Dodson. The Ladyjacks, who entered Sunday's match with the second-best defense allowing a goal per game, held the Cardinals (4-5-4, 1-1-3) without a shot for the first 13 minutes. Big Red had an early chance to equalize in the 20th minute but was denied.
In the 28th minute, a foul on the Ladyjacks set up a free-kick chance for LU, and Smith capitalized with the equalizer. The 1-1 score held into the break.
Most of the second half saw LU possessing the ball on the Ladyjack side of the field, but it was unable to break through. In the 80-minute mark, SFA had three chances to score, but were stopped by a pair of saves from Bywater. The final 10 minutes saw both teams with chances to score, including a last-second attempt by SFA, but time ran out, and the contest ended up level.
"Today was the response we've been asking for out of our group the last two weeks," said head coach
Nathan Kogut. "We battled back from an early goal, and I thought we were the better team for large chunks of today. I wish we had put a couple more chances away, but our subs were excellent and our team played well. We need to continue to improve and keep getting results this week."
LU is back at the LU Soccer Complex Thursday when it will take on Southeastern Louisiana. The kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.
