LSU Soccer continued its unbeaten run after defeating the Southern Miss Golden Eagles 3-1 at the Southern Miss Soccer Complex.
LSU lined up in the 3-5-2 for this game and started well. The Tigers were generating chances and finding space to shoot early. Most of their shots were from distance which didn’t prove to be trouble for the Southern Miss goalkeeper.
The first half lacked quality chances, but LSU proved it could find shots. Mollee Swift had the highlight of the half. Southern Miss had an open shot in the box, and Swift was equal to the shot to make a great save. The rest of the half remained a back and forth affair.
In the second half, things really began to open up. The Tigers opened the scoring at the 52nd minute through Alesia Garcia. Garcia picked the ball up in the Golden Eagles’ half and dribbled her way to the edge of the box before sending a powerful strike into the top right corner. Garcia’s scoring form continues as she has scored three in her last four games.
The Golden Eagles searched for a response and found it two minutes later as Ilana Izquierdo powered a shot into the bottom corner, and the game was tied 1-1.
Three minutes later, the Tigers grabbed the lead again through Brenna Mcpartlan. The ball from the corner came to the edge of the box and a cross was sent to the back post where McPartlan headed it home.
LSU pulled ahead in the game in the 70th minute through Tilly Wilkes. Wilkes volleyed home a rocket after a cross from Maya Gordon. LSU was flying and Wilkes and McPartlan had their first goals as Tigers.
The game ended 3-1 with LSU out shooting Southern Miss 17-5. LSU had 10 shots on target to USM’s three. This shows just how dominant the Tigers were that day.
“I’m really pleased with the performance. All credit to Southern Miss, they made it difficult on the day with their defensive structure in the first half and it was difficult to break down,” Head Coach Sian Hudson said.
“I’m pleased with the response in the second half. It was a great goal by Alesia Garcia to get us started on the scoresheet, followed by a great finish by Brenna McPartlan for her first goal in LSU’s colors, and finally what a finish it was from Olivia Wilkes for her first goal of the season.”
Hudson will be happy with the Tigers’ win. With the win they improve to five wins and two ties on the season. Unbeaten so far this season, LSU has continued to grow with each game. The Tigers faced adversity in California after a draw with Pepperdine that they answered with a 4-1 win against San Diego.
They didn’t play well against Grambling, but they followed that up by looking impressive against Southern Miss. Coach Hudson has been able to get the Tigers in great shape heading into the rest of the season.
The unbeaten run is impressive, and they will look to continue the run as they head to New Jersey to play Princeton on Thursday and No. 9 Rutgers on Sunday.
