Lamar opens crucial road swing

October 3, 2013

BEAUMONT, Texas – The Lamar University women’s soccer team opens a three-game road swing with a pair of Southland Conference contests in the Pelican State this weekend.

Lamar (3-7-1 overall, 0-3-1 Southland) is at Nicholls at 4 pm. Friday and Southeastern Louisiana at 1 p.m. Sunday in a pair of crucial contests as the Cardinals look to end a six-match winless streak and get back in the hunt for a Southland Conference Tournament berth.

The Cardinals have struggled offensively during the stretch, having been held scoreless for the last 476 minutes, 41 seconds heading into the weekend. Lamar has been outscored 7-0 in conference play this season.

“We have to find a way to score,” Lamar coach Orlando Cervantes said. “We’ve had our opportunities, but we’re not finishing them. That’s come back to haunt us.”

Nicholls (9-1-1, 3-10) and Southeastern Louisiana (8-2-1, 3-1-0) are in a four-way tie for first place in the Southland Conference with Oral Roberts and Abilene Christian with nine points apiece.

Nicholls has been the surprise of the conference this season. The Colonels hadn’t won a conference game since Oct. 21, 2007, when they claimed a 4-1 victory over Lamar, in the Cardinals’ first season as a program. Lamar leads the overall series with Nichols 5-1-0, with the last three wins all by shutout.

Nicholls’ Spencer Valdespino leads the Southland Conference in scoring with 23 points on 10 goals and three assists. Valdespino (5-1-11) is the top scorer in conference play as well.

Lauren O’Brien (4-3-11) and Hannah Savoie (4-3-11) are tied for second in overall scoring for Nicholls.

Lamar leads the overall series with Southeastern Louisiana 4-3-0. The Cardinals claimed two wins over the Lady Lions last season, including a 3-1 victory in the semifinals of the Southland Conference Tournament.

Kelsey Salcido (6-7-19) leads the Lady Lions in scoring. Southeastern Louisiana has been stellar defensively all season, allowing just four goals. Hope Sabadash has seen the majority of action in the net for the Lady Lions, starting all 11 games. She has a 0.38 goals-against average and a save percentage of .931. She has five shutouts and shared two other shutouts with Casey Jeanfreau.

Kimmy Albeno (5-1-11) leads Lamar in scoring. Albeno scored Lamar’s last goal back on Sept. 15 in a 2-1 overtime loss to Rice. Bailey Fontenot has started all 11 games in goal for the Cardinals this season.

Following this weekend’s games, the Cardinals will be at Sam Houston State on Oct. 11 before hosting Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at 1 p.m. Oct. 13.

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