COMMERCE, Texas – Kamryn Harvey earned Southland Conference Tournament MVP honors after scoring two goals and adding an assist Saturday evening while leading top-seeded Lamar University to a 4-0 victory over No. 3 Northwestern State in the SLC Soccer Championship game at Lion Soccer Field. This title is LU's fifth in program history and its third in the past five seasons.
The Cardinals (12-2-5) also tied a school record with their 11th shutout of the season, matching the mark set by the 2023 team.
Lamar outshot the Demons, 13-5, including a 7-1 advantage in shots on goal. Marissa Gross and Sofia Wilby also found the back of the net while goalkeeper Keely Thomas recorded one save in her eighth shutout of the season.
Harvey, Gross, Wilby and Thomas were each named to the SLC All-Tournament Team along with Christina Guzman, who recorded an assist, and Lauryn Woodard, who netted the game-winning goal in the semifinal match against UIW.
The Cardinals took the first shot just 23 seconds into the contest, but NSU nearly took the lead in the seventh minute before Thomas made her lone save of the contest. Both teams struggled to generate scoring opportunities until the 29th minute when Guzman attacked down the left side and delivered a cross that Harvey headed into the net for the match's opening goal.
The Demons looked to equalize with a corner kick in the final minute of the first half, but Big Red turned away the threat and carried a 1-0 lead into halftime.
It didn't take long for Lamar to double its advantage as Gross scored in the 47th minute on assists from Wilby and Harvey. Ten minutes later, the Cardinals struck again when Harvey overcame a crowd of defenders to flick the ball into the net and extend LU's lead to three.
Big Red put the match away in the 69th minute when Kamdyn Jalayer lofted a ball forward to Wilby, who finished the play with a goal on her right foot. LU's defense took care of the rest, holding the Demons to two shots after halftime and securing the shutout victory and conference title.
LU will continue its season in the NCAA Tournament. The Cardinals will wait to find out their destination on the NCAA Selection Show Monday, which will be streamed on the NCAA website at 3 p.m. Central.
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