The sun beat down on LSU freshman forward Jorian Baucom’s back during one of the LSU soccer team’s Southeastern Conference matches on a sweltering Louisiana Sunday afternoon.
It was definitely not the climate that brought the former 5-star recruit nearly 1,500 miles from her home in Scottsdale, Arizona, to Baton Rouge.
“It’s brutal,” Baucom said. “I thought back home the 117-degrees-plus weather was rough. But then, adding on the humidity, you feel like your life is literally being sucked out of you as you run down the field … But I’m slowly getting used to it.”
Despite having to adjust to the humidity, Baucom succeeded in her freshman campaign earning SEC All-Freshman honors, leading the team with eight goals.
Coming into her freshman season, Baucom faced immense pressure to perform as the highlight of the Tigers’ No. 7 ranked 2014 recruiting class.
Baucom was ranked the No. 13 overall player by TopDrawerSoccer.com and No. 3 forward in the 2014 Recruiting class.
LSU coach Brian Lee said before the start of the season, Baucom was recruited to create another threat up top to complement sophomore forward Summer Clarke.
Baucom answered some of the expectations with a goal in the first minute of her collegiate career.
Just 48 seconds into LSU’s season opener against Troy, Baucom headed in her first collegiate goal off a cross by junior midfielder Fernanda Piña.
Baucom’s height and ability to make plays in the air were key factors to her immediate impact on the pitch.
Standing at 5-feet-9-inches, Baucom is one of six players in the 2014 recruiting class standing more than 5-feet-7-inches, showing Lee’s focus on bringing in physicality to the program.
Baucom’s height adds a target up top in the box for crosses, which the Tigers did not have in previous seasons. In 2013, Clarke was LSU’s tallest forward at 5 feet 7 inches.
Baucom’s height combined with strength allows her to play with a physicality that fits the style of soccer played in the SEC.
“Definitely, coming in as a freshman I would say most teams wouldn’t necessarily know that I would come in with [a physical] mentality,” Baucom said. “I definitely know that my strength is my body frame, my athletic stature, and I definitely use that to my advantage on the field.”
Baucom uses her strength to shield the ball from defenders, allowing her to hold the ball until her teammates can make runs to spread the defense.
Baucom’s ability to shield the ball and distribute passes while her back is turned to a defender played a key role in Lee’s decision to switch from a 4-4-2, which includes two forwards, to a 4-3-3, which features a center forward and two outside forwards.
Baucom embraced her role as the center forward, and scored five goals out of the 4-3-3 formation.
Along with leading the Tigers in goals, Baucom tied Clarke and junior midfielder Natalia Gomez-Junco for a team-leading four assists.
Opposing defenders are not the only players frustrated by Baucom’s ability to shield the ball; even Baucom’s own teammates got frustrated in practice.
“Jorian is really good at shielding the ball, and it frustrates me so much,” said freshman defender Alexis Urch. “I’m usually able to get a toe in, not with Jorian because she keeps it away — keeps it away then heels it … It goes exactly where she wants it to go.”
Although Baucom’s potential showed in her successes during her freshman campaign, like all freshmen, Baucom struggled in some aspects of the game.
Despite having eight goals on the season, Baucom scored only one goal in a Sunday match showing how fatigue from the first match of the week affected her performance in the second.
In LSU’s seven Sunday matches, Baucom tallied a .090 shot percentage compared to her .175 shot percentage in the rest of the Tigers’ matches.
Another aspect of Baucom’s game that suffered at times due to fatigue was her defense when she lost possession.
For this part of her game, Baucom has a great role model in Clarke, who every time she loses the ball battles to the Tigers’ own penalty area if necessary.
“Coming in the beginning of the year, I never used to track back players or defend,” Baucom said. “Watching Summer, she always working to get back after she loses the ball or she’ll help double team a player. Seeing that helps me realize I need to do that too.”
Like the rest of the talented freshman class, this offseason will be crucial for Baucom to take the next step in her development.
“[Baucom] has shown lots of glimpses of being one of the top forwards in college soccer,” Lee said. “If we can have a whole spring, where we are not worried about games we are just training and getting real specific with Baucom.”