Aug. 16, 2008

Box Score

Heading into Saturday's exhibition game with Tyler Junior College, Lamar women's soccer coach Dewi Hardman wanted to see his team do a better job of creating chances and play with more intensity at both ends of the field.

While the outcome on the scoreboard - a 1-1 tie in 90 minutes of play with no overtime - may not have been the desired result, the team gave those in attendance and their head coach some exciting plays while increasing its intensity throughout the contest, particularly in the second half.

"I was a lot happier with the way the girls played tonight," Hardman said."We had a great effort defensively, held on to the ball well and had good chances. There were some very good positives that came from our first home contest of the year."

Following a scoreless first 45 minutes in which Tyler JC held an 11-8 edge in shots, Lamar took control for the remainder of the contest. The Cardinals outshot the Apaches 10-2 and put eight of those attempts on goal.

Lamar grabbed a 1-0 lead 2:26 into the second half when Rachelle Barry took a Jessica Pena pass and scored from 15 yards out.

Unfortunately for Lamar, the defense had a lapse three minutes later when Cara Newton got past the Cardinals' back line and beat Jessica Winters to tie the game at 1-1.

From there, though, the game was played almost entirely in the Tyler end of the field, with Lamar holding a 9-1 edge in shots over the final 31 minutes.

Both goalies saw 45 minutes of action for Lamar with Jennifer Gibbs stopping four shots in the first half..

Aline Pugliesi took a game-high eight shots and put four on goal. Carrie Mrazek, Pena, Ericka Predmore and Stefani Turner each had two shots apiece.

Lamar will open the regular-season on Friday, Aug. 22 at Texas Tech. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at the John Walker Soccer Complex in Lubbock. The Red Raiders defeated West Texas A&M 3-0 and played North Texas to a scoreless draw in their two preseason matches.