Lamar sports information

TULSA, Okla. – Lamar rallied with two goals in the second half but was unable to overcome an early deficit falling at Oral Roberts, 3-2, Sunday afternoon at the Case Soccer Complex. The loss drops LU to 2-2 (.500) on the young season.

“Today’s outcome wasn’t for a lack of effort,” said LU head coach Steve Holeman. “It was one of those days where we had a lot of things work against us. Coaches will tell you that Sunday games are tough, especially on the road. You combine that with 90-degree heat and you need depth to be successful. We had two players go down early and that is tough to overcome but our ladies never stopped fighting.

“Also, take nothing away from Oral Roberts. This is a very talented team. ORU is a very good possession team, and I felt like we out played them in the second half. We were able to cut the lead to one, but they took advantage of a couple mistakes to score their third goal,” added Holeman.

The Golden Eagles (3-1) struck for an early goal to take the first lead of the game when ORU’s Jordan Langebartels netted her first goal of the season on a pass from Nelly Mamabolo in the sixth minute of action. The 1-0 advantage would stand for the 24 minutes until the Golden Eagles were back on the attack.

ORU added to its lead when Langebartels sent a pass to Sierra Beall who was able to put the ball in the back of the net. The Golden Eagles would carry their 2-0 lead into the locker room, but quickly lost the momentum.

Less than three minutes into the second half, the Cardinals went on the attack and managed to cut deficit in half on an unassisted goal from Anna Loftus. The goal was officially scored at 47:57 on the clock.

ORU managed to score a goal in the 67th minute to reclaim a two-goal lead, 3-1. The Cardinals, however, didn’t go quietly. Big Red mounted one final charge to try and tie the game. LU’s Rubi Villegas was able to cut the deficit back to a single goal, 3-2, after scoring on a penalty kick with 1:48 remaining. Unfortunately, the Cards were unable to score the equalizing goal in the game’s final minute.

“We’re in a results-oriented business but if we play the rest of the season like we did today we’re going to be okay,” said Holeman. “At the end of the day, as a coach, you feel pretty good about things when your team fights the way did this afternoon.”

The Cardinals return to action Friday when they host Southern. The game against the Jaguars will begin at 7 p.m. from the LU Soccer Complex.