BEAUMONT, Texas – The Lamar University women’s soccer team wraps up its non-conference schedule with a pair of road games this week. The Cardinals (4-2-0) are at Texas Southern at 7 p.m. Thursday before facing the University of Houston at 5 p.m. Sunday.

 

LU went 2-2 on its four-game, 11-day road trip that covered more than 2,000 miles. LU fell to SEC powerhouses LSU and Ole Miss before bouncing back with wins over Arkansas-Pine Bluff and UTRGV at the UTRGV Tournament. The Cardinals were on the road the entire time due to Hurricane Harvey.

 

“Anything less than a 10-hour bus trip is going to seem easy,” LU coach Steve Holeman said of the upcoming short jaunts to Houston. “When you consider what so many others went through, what we experienced was just an inconvenience.”

 

The Cardinals are one win shy of the school record of five non-conference wins set in 2012, when LU went 5-7-1 in non-conference clashes, including a 1-1 mark in the Southland Conference Tournament. The Cardinals have already doubled last season’s win total.

 

“Every time you compare this year to last year, it’s fantastic,” Holeman said. “We’re doing what good programs do – we’re moving forward.”

 

LU senior Lauren Lovejoy, who earned Southland Conference Goalkeeper of the Week Honors for the second time this season after posting shutouts over Arkansas-Pine Bluff and UTRGV, leads the conference with three shutouts. Lovejoy has a 1.00 goals-against average and a save percentage of .786. Junior forward Kelso Peskin leads the Cardinals in scoring with six points on one goal and a conference-leading four assists.

 

“Our returning players have improved and our newcomers have made an impact,” Holeman said. “We are not going to take our foot off the gas. We’re going to keep working hard and getting better.”

 

The Cardinals are 5-0 all-time vs. Texas Southern, with the last meeting a 5-0 LU win at the LU Soccer Complex in 2015. The Cardinals will be playing at Texas Southern for the first time ever.

 

Texas Southern (1-1-1) comes in off a 5-0 win over Concordia (Texas). The Tigers are led by Paige Hayward, who has seven points on three goals and one assist.

 

Sunday’s game will be the first-ever meeting between the Cardinals and Cougars. Houston is 2-2 heading into a Friday home game with Southern Miss. Jazmin Grant and Hannah Dauzat share the team lead in scoring at five points apiece.

 

LU’s next home game is 7 p.m. Sept. 15 as the Cardinals host Nicholls in the Southland Conference opener for both squads. For ticket information for all LU home games, please call 409-880-1715, or visit www.LamarCardinals.com.

 

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