With success comes expectations. Lamar University women’s soccer coach Steve Holeman knows that better than most.
He’s led the Cardinals to NCAA tournament appearances in two of the last three seasons. However, as Lamar sets to host the Southland Conference tournament starting Tuesday, getting back to the national bracket will be a bit tougher this year because of factors outside Holeman’s control.
Season-ending injuries and coronavirus cases have depleted Lamar’s roster, leaving only “12 or 13” players available for the upcoming conference tournament. After starting the spring with just 16 total players, the Cardinals consistently dealt with low numbers, contributing to Lamar’s second-place finish in the Southland standings instead of a regular-season title.
Even so, the championship expectations haven’t changed for Holeman and the Cardinals with the Southland tournament looming.
“We don’t get any credit for finishing second, and I think that’s actually a bigger accomplishment than if we were healthy and won the regular season,” Holeman said. “We’re certainly talented enough to win the tournament. The key for us will be to stay healthy while playing three games in five days.”
Lamar very well could have won the regular-season title if not for a cancellation on the last day of the spring schedule. The Cardinals were set to face rival McNeese. A win would have given Lamar the Southland’s top seed.
Instead, a coronavirus case forced the Cardinals team into quarantine, and Lamar was forced to settle for second place.
“We win that game and we’re regular-season champs,” Holeman said. “But we didn’t play, so we have to live with that and move on.”
Lamar (8-3, 7-3) still has top end talent capable of competing with anyone. Leading the way is senior forward Ester Okoronkwo, who was named Monday as the Southland’s Player of the Year. She finished with eight goals and six assists — league highs in both categories.
Okoronkwo’s accomplishments came while seeing double and triple teams from opponents all season. Last year, fellow forward Lucy Ashworth took a lot of the opponent’s attention away from Okoronkwo. However, Ashworth graduated early and opted out of the spring season to play professionally with Lewes Football Club in England.
“When we had Lucy, teams couldn’t afford to pay so much attention to Ester,” Holeman said. “Now, I think teams turn their entire focus on stopping her, but we still have other dangerous players who can attack and score goals, so we need them to step up.”
Lamar had seven total players earn all-Southland honors Monday, including Nederland native Madison Ledet as the conference’s Midfielder of the Year. Only regular-season champion Stephen F. Austin received more recognition with eight players being honored.
The Cardinals will start their tournament run against No. 7 seed Sam Houston at 8 p.m. inside the Lamar Soccer Complex. It’s a rematch of Lamar’s last game when the Bearkats beat the Cardinals, 2-0 on April 3.
Holeman acknowledged the advantages of hosting the tournament, and said the game should play completely different in Beaumont than it did in Huntsville 10 days ago. Sam Houston plays on a smaller, turf surface in stark contrast to Lamar’s wider, natural grass field.
“We also made some uncharacteristic mistakes in that game that we need to correct,” Holeman said of the rematch with Sam Houston. “This is tournament time and we have a lot of seniors who helped take this program to new heights. They know this is win or go home.”
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