COMMERCE, Texas — Senior defender
Lauryn Woodard scored her first goal of the season as No. 1 seed Lamar University defeated No. 4 UIW, 1-0, Thursday evening in the Southland Conference tournament semifinals hosted by East Texas A&M. This was Big Red's 10th shutout of the season and the 42nd under head coach
Nathan Kogut.
Lamar (11-2-5) finished the match with 14 shots, including two on goal. Senior forward
Marissa Gross was credited with the assist on the game-winner, while senior goalkeeper
Keely Thomas collected two of the contest's three saves. Big Red's defense held UIW to six shots.
Both teams took five shots in the first half, but went into halftime scoreless. Thomas made the half's only save in the 33rd minute, stopping the shot that headed for the bottom center of the goal. Lamar nearly scored three minutes later when it had the open net momentarily, but couldn't capitalize on the opportunity.
Beaumont's version of the Cardinals pressed the attack in the second half, taking eight shots. The deadlock was finally broken in the 57th minute when
Sofia Wilby took a free kick and sent one toward the box. Gross deflected the ball right to Woodard, who used her right foot to give LU the lead. UIW struggled to solve the league's top-ranked defense for the next half-hour but managed to get one shot in with two minutes remaining. Thomas prevented the tying goal with her second save and Big Red held on for the win.
Lamar will seek to claim its fifth conference tournament title and third in the last five seasons Sunday afternoon when it battles with No. 3 Northwestern State in the championship game. The match kicks off at 1 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.
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