Soccer Cardinals downed 2-0 at LSU
Published 11:28 pm Friday, August 25, 2017
Lamar sports information
BATON ROUGE, La. – Lauren Lovejoy made a season-high seven saves, but the Lamar women’s soccer team suffered its first loss of the season, dropping a 2-0 decision to the host LSU Tigers in a non-conference game Friday night.
The Cardinals (2-1-0), who lost 4-0 at LSU last season, had their chances against the Tigers (3-0-0), but couldn’t get one past LSU goalkeeper Caroline Brockmeier, who made four saves for her third straight shutout.
The Tigers struck early in the first half as Alex Thomas scored just 7:59 into the match, beating Lovejoy from 10 yards out after taking a pass from Tinaya Alexander. Thomas set up LSU’s second goal as she assisted on Dana Reed’s tally with 7:53 remaining in the opening half. Reed beat Lovejoy from in close to cap the scoring.
“Lauren had a phenomenal game,” LU coach Steve Holeman said. “She made some great saves and kept us in the game.”
LSU outshot the Cardinals 20-7 on the evening, including a 9-4 edge in shots on goal. Samantha Moreno had two of LU’s four shots on goal, with Lucy Ashworth and Rubi Villegas being credited with one shot on goal apiece.
LU’s best chance came when Kelso Peskin got behind Brockmeier, but put her shot off the side of the net.
“It was a much better game than last season,” Holeman said. “It was a back-and-forth-effort at times. We definitely got better tonight.”
The Cardinals stay on the road as they travel to Ole Miss for a non-conference game at 2 p.m. Sunday. That contest was added to the Cardinals’ schedule late Friday afternoon. It will be a homecoming of sorts for Holeman, who coached at Ole Miss for 15 seasons, posting a 158-119-28 record.
“It’s an all-SEC weekend,” Holeman said. “This is going to be a great experience for us. We’re playing two teams that would definitely contend for a championship in the Southland Conference. We’re going to make the most of this.”