HUNTSVILLE, Texas - Two first-half goals helped Lamar end August with its first victory of the season, defeating Sam Houston, 3-1 Sunday evening at Pritchett Field. Big Red has now won five straight matches against the Bearkats dating back to the 2021 season.
Junior transfer
Marissa Gross scored her first goal as a Cardinal and tallied an assist to lead LU.
Riley Wilson and
Cena Carlson also notched their first goals of the season while
Sydney Williams and
Lauren Smith each contributed an assist.
Goalkeeper
Eloise Bywater faced down 12 Bearkat shots and recorded three saves in goal.
"I'm super excited to get that first win of the year, especially on the road over a rival," said head coach
Nathan Kogut. "It was great to see the lessons learned from a tough nonconference schedule pay off tonight. We still have a lot to improve on, but getting a road win and three goals is a good night. "
LU struck first in the fifth minute off a corner from Smith. The ball was kicked to Williams, who headed it to Wilson and the Round Rock junior struck it with her right foot to give Lamar (1-3-1) the early lead. Fourteen minutes later, Gross placed a perfect cross to Carlson, leading to a header for LU's second goal. The Bearkats got one back in the 33rd minute from Cianna Gomez and came close to equalizing in the 42nd minute before Bywater thwarted the chance away.
As the second half began, the Cardinals took command of the possession. While Gross's first shot of the half was saved by SHSU goalkeeper, she got another chance in the 68th minute and flicked one to the left side of the goal for a 3-1 Big Red cushion. Over the last 22 minutes, SHSU put up a flurry of chances, but ran into a stingy Cardinal defense, who never surrendered their two-goal lead.
The Cardinals will return home Sunday, Sept. 7th to host Rice at the LU Soccer Complex. The match will kick off at 6:00 p.m.
