LOS ANGELES – Jennessa Groves, Jai Smith and Kylie Dobbs all scored for the first time this season and JJ Hoover notched her second clean sheet of the season in a 3-0 victory over Cal State Bakersfield on Thursday night at Sullivan Field.
Groves notched her fourth goal since transferring to LMU, tied for most in that timespan with Alice Santen.
Smith and Dobbs each scored their first goal as a Lion.
LMU pressured the Roadrunners since the ball was kicked off. In the fifth minute, the Lions forced a pair of corner kicks with some sustained pressure in the offensive third.
Groves had the first attempt, blasting a left-footed shot high in the 8th minute. Just ten minutes later, it was Groves again, forcing a save from the visiting goalkeeper.
The Lions got their breakthrough in the 21st minute. Smith found some space down the right side and fired a shot that was parried by the goalkeeper into the path of Groves, who pounced on it for her first tally of the season.
Groves continued to pour on the pressure with another shot on target in the 24th minute.
Dobbs had her first shot in the 35th minute and nearly scored an epic curled goal.
In the second half, the Lions kept pressuring and found a pair of goals.
Smith took a blistering cross from Megan Rucker and slotted home to double the lead only three minutes into the second half.
It was Dobbs who put the game away in the 76th minute. After taking a feed from Makiya Christensen, Dobbs curled a left-footed effort into the top left corner of the goal and wheeled away in celebration.
The 3-0 victory marked the largest margin of victory for the Lions since September 30, 2018 when they defeated Pacific 4-0.
The Lions will be back in action on Sunday, September 3 against UC Davis in Davis, Calif. Sunday's match will be streamed on ESPN+ starting at 12:00 p.m. (PT).
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