No. 1 Lamar comes back from early deficit to take Southland Women's Soccer Championship with 4-1 win over No. 3 Texas A&M-Commerce

No. 1 Lamar comes back from early deficit to take Southland Women's Soccer Championship with 4-1 win over No. 3 Texas A&M-Commerce

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NATCHITOCHES, La. – Christine Kitaru had two goals and an assist to lead top-seed Lamar to a 3-1 win over third-seed Texas A&M-Commerce and give the Cardinals the 2022 Southland Conference Women’s Soccer Championship.
 
With the tournament championship, Lamar (15-1-2) will advance to the NCAA Women’s Soccer Tournament as the Southland’s automatic qualifier. A&M-Commerce’s first season in the Southland ends with a 9-9-2 record.
 
Kitaru claimed tournament MVP honors after scoring a match-tying goal in the 32nd minute, assisting on the go-ahead goal in the 57th minute, and sealing the match with a goal in the 77th minute.
 
Lamar was dominant in possession throughout the match, outshooting A&M-Commerce by a 26-9 margin and forcing TAMUC goalkeeper Jen Peters into 10 saves.
 
The Cardinals took the first seven shots of the match, but it was the Lions who found the scoreboard first. In the 20th minute, McKenna Keeley put a shot off the post from a corner kick opportunity, and Mindy Shoffit trundled home the rebound to give the lower seed the 1-0 lead.
 
In the 32nd minute, Kitaru showed off a great bit of individual skill, dribbling through a clutch of defenders in the penalty area, and tying up the match at 1-all with a shot to the back post. That scoreline would carry into halftime.
 
Lamar continued to apply pressure and took the lead in the 57th minute, when Kitaru took off on a breakaway and found Cariel Ellis, who slotted the ball away for a 2-1 lead.
 
A&M-Commerce attempted to push forward to tie the match, which allowed Lamar to attack further. Another breakaway in the 77th minute saw Ellis find Kitaru for an insurance goal. The final margin was sealed in the 88th minute, when Ellis headed home an open cross for the 4-1 victory.
 
Lamar wins the conference tournament and advances to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in program history, with the 2022 team joining the 2017 and 2019 teams as champions.
 
Joining MVP Kitaru on the all-tournament team were:
  • Lamar’s Laura Linares, Cariel Ellis, Abby Gemza, and Nicole Panis
  • Texas A&M-Commerce’s Ashley Campuzano, Mya Mitchell, Mindy Shoffit, and Jen Peters
  • Northwestern State’s Gracie Armstrong
  • HCU’s Kat Lazor 
NOTES
  • This is the eighth time the top seed has won the Southland Conference Women’s Soccer Championship.
  • A&M-Commerce goalkeepers made 28 saves in three tournament matches to establish a tournament record in that category.
 --#SouthlandStrong--