BEAUMONT, Texas – Senior Marissa Gross recorded her third career multi-goal game Thursday evening as Lamar University scored three second-half goals defeating Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 3-0, at the LU Soccer Complex. The victory marked head coach Nathan Kogut's 50th career win and 39th shutout during his career.
LU (8-2-4, 5-1-1 Southland) maintained its first-place lead, one point ahead of UIW and three points clear of both Houston Christian and Southeastern Louisiana.
The Cardinals finished the match with 18 shots as Gross scored two goals, becoming the first player in the conference to reach 10 goals this season. Kam Jalayer added a goal and an assist, while Kamryn Harvey and Ekemini Udofa each recorded an assist. Goalkeeper Keely Thomas tied a season high with five saves on 11 shots faced to earn her fourth shutout.
LU had to withstand four early shots by the Islanders in the opening seven minutes. The Cardinals did not record their first shot until the 12th minute before adding five more attempts during the remainder of the first half. Big Red nearly opened the scoring in the 38th minute when Mary Grace Batson's header was deflected by the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi goalkeeper near the top center of the net.
The Cardinals were issued a yellow card in the 52nd minute but successfully defended the ensuing free kick from just outside the penalty area. Neither side was able to break through until the 70th minute, when Jalayer lofted a left-footed shot over the goalkeeper while falling to the ground, giving LU a 1-0 lead. Two minutes later, Harvey drew a foul in the box, and Gross converted her third penalty kick of the season to double the Cardinals' advantage.
In the 75th minute, Harvey and Gross executed a two-on-one break against the goalkeeper, with Gross finishing the play for her second goal of the match. The Cardinals' defense then held the Islanders without a shot for the remainder of the contest.
With three games remaining in the regular season, LU will travel to Hammond, La., on Sunday to face Southeastern Louisiana. The match is scheduled to kick off at 5 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.
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