LSU soccer’s season came to an end in Tallahassee Friday night as it fell to the No. 1 overall seed, Florida State University. The game was a tight contest in the first half. Going into halftime, the scoreboard read 1-1. FSU’s strong second half was the difference maker. The Seminoles scored three goals to take the game 4-1.
FSU was always going to be a tough team to beat. The Seminoles are the No. 1 ranked team in the country for a reason. LSU, however, had a different plan in mind. The upset-minded Tigers started off the match on top as in the 10th minute, Wasila DIwura-Soale punched home Angelina Thoreson’s cross to make it 1-0. The Tigers were up.
Just 10 minutes later, the Seminoles responded. Jenna Nighswonger ripped a powerful shot from 16 yards out which beat Mollee Swift and brought the game back level. The game continued to be a back-and-forth affair for the rest of the first half. It seemed that neither team could take control of the game.
In the second half, FSU showed their quality in just seven minutes. In the 52nd minute, a shot from Jody Brown was saved by Swift, but it was put right into the path of Ran Iwai. She powered it home to give the Seminoles the lead.
Two minutes later, Onyi Echegini outleapt everyone on a corner kick to give FSU a 3-1 lead. LSU hunted for an equalizer, but in the 79th minute FSU sealed the game. Ameila Horton scored giving the Seminoles four goals to the Tigers’ one. FSU had officially defeated LSU.
“I am incredibly proud of this team for their efforts tonight,” Coach Sian Hudson said. “We frustrated them earlier and it was a close game for 45 minutes. Unfortunately, we opened the second half a bit slow and gave them the lead and that’s not something you can do with a great program like Florida State.”
The Tigers finished the season with a record of 10-4-7. LSU had back-to-back trips to the NCAA Tournament for only the second time in program history. It was a successful season overall that only can be built on after this year’s freshman class showed great promise.
“I think our team has shown all season long that we can battle through adversity,” Hudson said. “In my three years at LSU, we’ve taken steady steps forward and this year’s group showed great consistency. Overall, it’s been a great team effort from start to finish and I’m proud of this group,” Hudson said.
