In the wake of LSU midfielder Emma Fletcher’s SEC Freshman of the Week honors last week, midfielder Summer Clarke may have one-upped her fellow freshman this weekend.
Clarke buried two goals, including the game-winner in the 102nd minute, to propel LSU past Alabama 2-1 in double-overtime Sunday and keep LSU alone atop the Southeastern Conference standings.
The multi-goal game followed Clarke’s hat trick in LSU’s 5-3 win at Arkansas on Friday, the first three-goal match for a Tiger player since Malorie Rutledge did so against Arkansas-Pine Bluff in the first round of the 2009 NCAA Tournament.
“Summer’s been playing really, really well all year, and the ball just wasn’t falling into the back of the net,” said LSU coach Brian Lee. “I thought she took some chances out there this weekend, and they all paid off. Five goals in an SEC weekend is ridiculous.”
After the teams played to a 1-1 draw through regulation and an overtime period, the freshman duo paired up for the golden goal, marking the sixth time this season Fletcher has assisted a Clarke score.
Fletcher took possession near midfield and drew the two Tide center backs away from the goal, while Clarke drilled Fletcher’s through ball into the far corner of the net for her eighth goal of the season.
Four of LSU’s last five matches have reached overtime, with the Tigers sporting a 3-0-1 record in them.
“The individual kids’ character is strong this year, and that’s become a collective team mentality,” Lee said. “The later the games go, the better we feel about them. Whether it’s 10 minutes to go or in overtime, we’re the stronger team almost every time down the stretch.”
This is the first time LSU has ever opened SEC play unbeaten through five games.
Following a sloppy, scoreless first half, Fletcher put LSU ahead with a close-range finish to the lower-right corner of the net off an assist from freshman midfielder Megan Lee in the 49th minute.
That erased a typically sluggish first half for a Sunday SEC game, as both teams struggled to find their legs after emotional Friday-night wins.
“It was a normal Sunday in the SEC,” Lee said. “In the first half, we didn’t have much energy, but Bama didn’t have a lot more. They were a slightly better team in the run of play, but we were just really dangerous every time we got the ball forward in possession.”
But the Tide, who were riding a three-game winning streak, didn’t waste any time evening the sheet.
Alabama senior defender Sophie Campise did the damage in the 56th minute, chipping the ball over LSU senior goalkeeper Megan Kinneman’s reach from 12 yards out.
“[Alabama] had maybe 10 minutes of the play in our end, so the goal didn’t come out of nowhere,” Lee said.
The LSU defense tightened up after that, forcing four errant Tide shots in the first overtime period.
Lee said the defensive trio of juniors Jodi Calloway and Alex Arlit and senior Addie Eggleston picked up the slack in a rugged Sunday match, limiting Kinneman to five saves despite 18 Alabama shots.
“The back line probably produced their best performance of the season,” Lee said. “Jodi, Addie and Alex were fantastic. The goals we got are nice but that defensive effort on a Sunday is how you win a conference.”
With another overtime thriller going in its favor, LSU is in position to do just that nearing the halfway point of the conference slate.