BEAUMONT, Texas – Junior forward
Shelby Drope developed a reputation as a distributor at Northwestern State, but on Friday, the Lady Demons needed her to connect on the other end.
Drope scored her first career goal to lift NSU to a 1-0 win at Lamar, handing the Lady Demons (4-5, 1-1 Southland Conference) to their first win league play.
"My first reaction – I was so excited," Drope said. "Oh my God, I scored a goal.
"I usually never go up (on offense), but I finally went up, and it paid off. I was at the top of the 18-yard box, and I saw the defenders coming at me. I started to freak out a little bit, but I calmed down, stayed over the ball and looked for the corners."
Junior forward Cache Haley found Drope at the top of the box, logging her first assist since 2014 and the third of her career.
"I got the ball on a throw-in from
Amy Renteria … and I looked to the top of the box," Haley said. "My best friend
Shelby Drope was there to put it in the goal.
"I wanted to work hard this game. I lost one of my best friends this week due to suicide, and this game was dedicated to him."
Junior goalkeeper
Alex Latham and the NSU back line made the goal stand up as the Lady Demons withstood a late barrage of Lamar (1-8-1, 0-1-1 SLC) shots to post Latham's fourth shutout this season.
"We were on their end of the field for most of the first half, so I didn't have to do much," Latham said. "In the second half when I did have to come up with saves, I wanted to do that for my team because they kept it out of my half in the first (period).
"It's my job. When they need me, I've got to come through."
NSU outshot Lamar 19-15 and 7-6 on goal, including a 12-4 edge in the first half.
"It was huge to get this win after they beat us 3-1 last year at our place," Van Linder said. "It was a tough one, we had to gut it out.
"We started out great and had opportunities, but sometimes when you don't score, the players get frustrated. I'm really proud of Latham and the backline – they've been great this year."
The road conference win is NSU's first since Nov. 17, 2014, breaking a five-game winless streak on the road in SLC play.
