BEAUMONT, Texas -
Lauren Smith and
Annika Kassenbrock tied single-game marks as Lamar University's red-hot offense recorded an 11-0 victory over Texas A&M-San Antonio Thursday at the LU Soccer Complex. This was the third time in program history the Cardinals reached double-figures, and tied for the second-highest mark with the 2011 team (Sep. 18). LU has also won three of its last four meetings.
Smith became the third Cardinal to score four goals in a game, joining Lucy Ashworth (Sep. 21) and Esther Okoronkwo (Nov. 6), who both achieved this feat during the 2019 season. She also finished second behind Ashworth (10) in single-match points with eight.
Kassenbrock recorded a school-tying mark with five assists on goals which puts her alongside former teammate
Hollie Massey.
All 11 goals had an assist, which set a new school record, breaking the previous mark of 10, which had been done twice before in 2011 and 2015.
Substitutes
Anneliese Switzer and
Celine Diaz posted two-goal games, while
Mariana Cardenas,
Sydney Williams, and
Kam Jalayer also found the back of the net.
Eloise Bywater recorded a save on the Jaguars' only shot of the match.
The Cardinals erupted for six goals in the first half, coming within two shy of the record for most in a 45-minute session.
Olivia Manibo contributed with assists on LU's first two goals by Smith (eighth min.) and Cardenas (14th min.). After Smith tallied her second in the 19th minute, Big Red went 14 scoreless minutes before
Anneliese Switzer struck the next two goals for a 5-0 lead with Kassenbrock assisting on both. Williams netted the sixth goal on an assist by
Kam Jalayer in the 35th minute. All this happened while LU's stifling defense held the Jaguars to one shot.
Twelve seconds into the second half, Smith posted her hat-trick and followed that with her fourth of the contest in the 49th minute. Jalayer netted her goal six minutes later to make the score 9-0. Kassenbrock added three more assists on those three goals. Before long, Diaz picked up the 10th goal in the 59th minute with the assist coming from
Cena Carlson. Then, in the 70th minute, the Ft. Worth sophomore, who wears No. 11, scored the 11th and final goal for the match. While the Cardinals' offense erupted, their defense yielded no shots for the second half.
"I am really happy to finish our nonconference portion of the schedule with a lot of goals and a lot of kids getting on the field," said head coach
Nathan Kogut. "We've played a tough schedule to purposely challenge ourselves, and we get to see how that impacts us next week. For now, we are excited to get another good win and another good performance for our players."
After going through a tough non-conference schedule, the Cardinals are ready to tackle Southland Conference play, concluding their four-match home stretch with East Texas A&M Thursday, Sept. 18th. The match will kick off at 7 p.m., and will be streamed on ESPN+.
