Battered, bruised Lamar soccer back for first official home game

[KFDM COOP]

Battered, bruised Lamar soccer back for first official home game

BEAUMONT - When you see Lamar defender Leslie Myers, and when you take a look at her slight build and her 5-foot-6 frame, plenty of words might come to mind.

"Beast" is not one of them.

But somehow, that's the nickname she's been stuck with.

At 1 p.m. today in Cardinal Stadium, Myers and the rest of the Lamar soccer team will play Grambling State, kicking off the first official home game in program history.

Beast will be in attendance, wearing No. 5. She got the nickname at some point during the Cardinals' first six games of the season - all on the road, all losses.

How?

During her freshman season at Navarro College, Myers fractured a rib that never healed properly. The fracture is close to the middle of her chest, which throbs every time she plays.

Doctors have told her they can't do anything about it.

"They said I'm just going to have to live with pain the rest of my life," Myers said.

So she still plays, because she loves soccer. But for her, just getting on the field takes a little extra effort.

Before Myers pulls a jersey over her head, she buckles on a foam-and-plastic "skeleton pad," which looks a little like a baseball catcher's chest protector. Then a trainer wraps a giant Ace bandage around the skeleton pad to hold everything together.

Yet when the whistle blows, Myers hardly plays the way her size would indicate. A junior-college All-American at Navarro last year, she has not only been known to deliver a forearm shiver, but to brag about it later.

All this led Lamar assistant coach Jodi Clugston to give Myers her nickname.

And so Leslie Myers is "Beast," whether she wants to be or not.

"When I'm playing, I hit a lot of people. I don't back down," Myers said, laughing. "After a game, or when I'm running - or when I have to take deep breaths - (the rib fracture) bothers me."

On this inaugural team at Lamar, Myers said, everyone cares about the game, and everyone plays with heart.

Through the early going, however, the Cardinals have learned two things: That winning as a rookie program is not easy, and that it requires much more than heart.

How ugly has it been? Consider these numbers:

Lamar has one goal. Its opponents have scored 48.

Lamar is averaging 4.0 shots per game. Its opponents are averaging 33.3.

The Cardinals' closest margin was in their first game, when they lost 5-0 to Eastern Washington.

"For sure, our offense hasn't been there," coach Matthew Dillon said. "I don't think we've had enough possession to generate enough offense. Some of that has to do with fitness, with altitude, with the pressure applied to us from the other team."

But for whatever reason, the Cardinals hardly looked like an 0-6 team during practice this week. True, maybe they didn't expect six blowouts to start the season. But they also knew this thing would take a little time to get going.

"You look at the realities," Dillon said. "Coming into the season, no coach says, 'Hey, we're going to drop our first six.' We all expect to win all of them. But ... the reality is that we've got three players from junior college, and none of these kids played in Division I before this year. Baseball players talk about how it's different when you get to the show. Soccer is no different."

Myers said the great thing about this first team is it hasn't give up, even when the score gets out of hand.

Opposing coaches have told the Lamar players afterward they were impressed with the Cardinals' effort, even when it became obvious they wouldn't rally for a victory.

Perhaps today's game will help boost the Cardinals' morale, too. It's against Grambling, which won the Southwestern Athletic Conference title last year but is winless through five games.

Good-news alert: Lamar has played one SWAC opponent already this season, albeit in an exhibition last month at Cardinal Stadium. LU won that game, 6-2, in the only time they've tasted victory of any kind.

Another win would be more than OK by Myers, who's already endured her fair share of pain this season. After a Friday morning practice, she showed off a long, nasty cut on her left leg.

Surely, coming from a player who earned the nickname "Beast," this had to be another battle scar.

"Well, actually, I burned myself with an iron," she said. "I guess I should come up with a story. But I was ironing my clothes, because they were really wrinkled and I was bored. That wasn't fun."

Surprisingly, the soccer has been.

[NedDog]

How did the Cards do in their home opener yesterday?

[KFDM COOP]

I didn't make it but i heard the played well.

[Guest coachacola]

I think they are playing today.  Don't know what the score is.

[Guest abovetherim]

This is the first season as you guys know. I think there is talent in the area in youth soccer programs and at the high school level. The coaching staff will need a few years to build the program.

As a Lamar supporter, (not a soccer fan) I'm not disappointed at all. The program is where I thought it would be. We just need to support our girls.

[NedDog]

In no way am I disapointed in LU's soccer team or their coaches.  I admire each and every one of them for taking on established programs & unbelievable odds every time they step out on that field.  Like everyone else who supports local athletics,  Ihope nothing but the best for the Lady Cards!