It had been more than three weeks since the last time the LSU soccer team walked off the pitch victorious, but the Tigers finally ended their recent winless streak with perhaps their most important victory of the season against Mississippi State on Friday.
Sophomore forward Summer Clarke gave LSU an early lead with her seventh goal of the season nearly midway in the first half, and the Tigers (5-6-2, 1-2-1 SEC) held on for a 2-0 victory over the Bulldogs (3-8, 0-4 SEC) at MSU Soccer Field on Friday night. 
The win gave LSU its first conference victory of the season and snapped the squad’s five-game winless streak that stretched back to a 4-3 defeat of BYU on Sept. 11.
“Three points on the road in the SEC never comes easy, and it didn’t come easy for us tonight,” said LSU head coach Brian Lee. “I thought we played some of our best attacking soccer so far in this season in the first half, and we were a bit unfortunate not to have more than the one goal at halftime.”
Tigers’ junior midfielder Natalia Gomez-Junco, who scored her third goal of the season three minutes after the break, echoed Lee’s remarks but was pleased that LSU still managed to come away with a much-needed victory.
“Every game is different, and it’s definitely not easy to get a win in the SEC,” Gomez-Junco said. “I thought today we played very well. We should have maybe scored more goals, but we got the win, and that’s the important thing.”
The Tigers also received a standout performance from freshman goalkeeper Lily Alfeld. The New Zealand native recorded her fourth shutout of the season and tallied six saves against the Mississippi State attack.
It was the first time Alfeld blanked an opponent since a 0-0 double overtime draw against Stephen F. Austin on Sept. 8.  
“The best thing [Alfeld] did was cutting out crosses and being aggressive on long-flighted balls in the box,” Lee said. “The saves she had to make were mainly long-range shots, but she really directed the team very well.”
The night didn’t go as smoothly for Mississippi State freshman goalkeeper Tanya de Souza. The Tigers’ attack pressured de Souza from the opening kickoff, firing off 11 shots with six on target in the first half.
A handball by a Bulldogs’ defender in the box gave LSU freshman striker Jorian Baucom an early opportunity to put the Tigers on the scoreboard. But de Souza easily saved Baucom’s penalty kick in the 18th minute of action.
However, Baucom found Clarke running free in the middle of the area less than five minutes later, and LSU’s All-SEC forward kicked the ball into the top corner from eight yards out to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead heading into the break.
Clarke, who led LSU with 10 scores as a freshman, has recorded three goals in the past four games. But Clarke said her latest goal was a total team effort.  
“Someone played the ball out wide to me, and I took my touch inside,” Clarke said. “Then Jorian made a run across the top of the box, and I passed it to her. Then she delayed it back to me, and I took a touch and shot it in the top corner.”
“We were creating opportunities like that all night for each other and getting lots of people in the box and getting lots of shots off, which was good.”  
Gomez-Junco added her third goal of the season during a bizarre series of events in the 48th minute of action.
In an attempt to block a shot from LSU defender Megan Lee, de Souza crashed into the left post and went to the turf. With an open net, Gomez-Junco picked up the rebound off the cross bar and scored her first goal since Aug. 29 against Northwestern State.
“The ref never blew the whistle, so that’s why I kept going,” Gomez-Junco said. “It was very weird because we didn’t know if it was going to be counted, but that’s how you have to do. You have to finish the play until the ref blows the whistle.”
After the Tigers claimed a 2-0 lead, it was the defense’s turn to take over the game, and Gomez-Junco had one comment about the young back line’s performance.  
“Our defense was absolutely brilliant tonight,” Gomez-Junco said.
The Bulldogs fired off seven shots in the final 30 minutes of the contest, but LSU’s back line held firm and helped Alfeld maintain her shutout performance.
The Tigers will now travel to Stone Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina, for a match against the No. 13 Gamecocks on Sunday. South Carolina (8-3-1, 1-2-1 SEC) played SEC-West opponent Alabama to a 1-1 draw on Friday night.