BEAUMONT, Texas – Lamar freshman goalkeeper Zoey Stephenson picked up her first career win and shutout Sunday as the Cardinals blanked visiting Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 3-0 in a Southland Conference women’s soccer game.

Stephenson, filling in for Bailey Fontenot, needed to make just two saves as the Cardinals (5-9-1 overall, 2-5-1 Southland) played a strong defensive game. Lamar held a 30-9 edge in shots over the Islanders (2-11-0, 1-6-0).

“This win gave us some confidence as a team and it gave Zoey some confidence,” Lamar coach Orlando Cervantes said. “I was very impressed with the way our defense played.”

The defense was a bit depleted coming into the game with the absence of Alejandra. However, the rest of the defensive corps that included Grace Bowman, Nicole Frank, Shavonn Johnson, Amber Thornhill, Megan Campbell, Danielle Pearce and Jennifer Moore limited the Islanders’ scoring chances.

The defense even got in on the scoring as Thornhill scored on a header of a great corner kick by Moore in the second half.

Kimmy Albeno had a goal and an assist for Lamar while Kristin Bos also scored for the Cardinals. Albeno got Lamar on the board at the 32:44 mark of the first half, scoring on a header after her original header caromed off the crossbar and back to her.

Albeno’s goal was her team-leading seventh of the season and was her eighth career game-winning goal, the most in program history.

The Albeno goal was the only marker of the first half, a period dominated by the Cardinals, who outshot the Islanders 17-3 over the firs6t 45 minutes.

“We weren’t capitalizing in the first half and it seemed as if we were waiting for something bad to happen,” Cervantes said. “At halftime, I told them they were in control and to play with confidence. They responded in the second half.”

Did they ever. The Cardinals score a pair of goals 3:45 apart early in the second half to end any hopes the Islanders may have had.

Thornhill scored her first of the season 3:26 into the half and Bos followed that up with her third of the year shortly thereafter on an assist from Albeno.

After that, it was just a matter of keeping the Islanders at bay to preserve Stephenson’s shutout.

Audrey Baldwin had a strong game in goal for the Islanders, finishing with 16 saves.

With the win, Lamar moved to within two points of a berth in the Southland Conference Tournament with four games remaining. Lamar has seven points; Central Arkansas, Houston Baptist and Sam Houston State are in a three-way tie for the sixth, and final, spot with nine points.

Lamar returns to action at 7 p.m. Friday with a conference game at McNeese State.

“Hopefully, this win gives us some momentum,” Cervantes said. “We have to take advantage of that.”

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