BEAUMONT, Texas - Lamar University seeks to clinch a share of the Southland Conference title as it travels to Houston Christian for a battle between the league's top two teams Sunday. Kickoff is set for 4:00 p.m., and the match will be streamed on ESPN+.

PREVIOUSLY
The Cardinals (9-2-4, 6-1-1 SLC) scored the lone goal on a strike from Sofia Wilby in the seventh minute before holding off Southeastern Louisiana for the final 83 minutes to record a 1-0 victory. Marissa Gross recorded her first assist of the season, while goalkeeper Keely Thomas made four saves in the win.

IT'S A CLEAN SWEEP
For the second time this season, LU swept the SLC Weekly Awards. Senior midfielder Marissa Gross earned her first-career SLC Offensive Player of the Week after scoring two goals and recording an assist in the last two games. Senior defender Riley Wilson received her second Defensive Player of the Week accolade after leading LU to its seventh shutout of the season. Thomas earned her second straight goalkeeper of the week with nine saves on 19 shots. 

CLIMBING THOMAS
Keely Thomas recorded her fifth shutout of the season, moving into sixth place on the program's all-time shutout list and passing teammate Maddie Rich. Thomas' five shutouts are the most by a Lamar goalkeeper since Nicole Panis recorded 10 in 2023. Panis holds the school record with 30 career shutouts.

HAPPY BELATED HALLOWEEN SOUTHLAND
The Cardinals finished the month of October winning all five of their matches, while outscoring the opposition 9-2. The last time LU finished unbeaten in October was back in 2023, when it went 6-0-1 during that stretch and outscored its opponents 12-4.

SCORE GOALS = CAN'T LOSE
LU has scored in 12 of the 15 games it played this season and holds a 9-0-3 mark when it finds the back of the net. The Cardinals are 4-0-2 when they score one goal, 2-0-1 with two, 1-0-0 with three, and 2-0-0 with five or more.

OTHER UNBEATEN MARKS
The Cardinals are also unbeaten when they lead after the first half, going 4-0-2. They also have a 3-0-2 mark on day games.

SOUTHLAND UPDATE
Lamar holds a three-point lead over both HCU and UIW in the conference standings. The Cardinals can clinch the regular-season title outright with a win over HCU and a UIW loss or tie against Stephen F. Austin. If both Cardinal teams win Sunday, Lamar will clinch at least a share of the title.

ALL-TIME VS. HOUSTON CHRISTIAN
LU holds a 9-3-4 record against the Huskies and is unbeaten in the past nine meetings (8-0-1). Last season, the Cardinals rallied from behind to defeat HCU, 2-1. Kam Jalayer assisted on the game-tying goal, and Sydney Williams scored the winner with 52 seconds remaining.

ABOUT THE HUSKIES
HCU (8-3-6, 4-0-4 SLC) earned a 1-0 victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in its last match. Jasmine Diaz scored the game-winning goal with less than two minutes remaining. Olivia Rossman recorded the assist and is now tied for the Southland Conference lead with eight.

A FANTASTIC HUSKIES DEFENSE 
The Huskies have the third-best defense in the conference, allowing 1.24 goals per game, trailing McNeese (1.21) and LU (0.67). HCU has gone 10 consecutive matches without allowing more than one goal, posting a 6-0-4 record during that stretch.

UP NEXT
The Cardinals close the regular season against border rival McNeese on Thursday at the LU Soccer Complex. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m., and the match will be streamed on ESPN+. Seniors will also be recognized for their careers in Cardinal Red during Senior Night.
 

#PeckEmCards