LSU soccer defeated the Mississippi State Bulldogs 2-1 in a thrilling battle at home on Sunday.
For both squads, this game was an early SEC West test, with each team looking to go 2-1 in conference play.
After losing its SEC opener to Ole Miss, LSU bounced back with a 3-2 win against No. 22 Georgia in Athens on Thursday.
The Tigers continued their momentum on offense to secure their first SEC home win and gain three more points toward the SEC standings.
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“I think the togetherness in the group at the moment and the ability to dig deep and show a lot of resilience is just evident,” head coach Sian Hudson said.
While the first half was scoreless, the energy on both sides of the ball never stopped. Each team played an upbeat, aggressive first half, which Hudson called a “game of cat and mouse.”
The first goal of the match came early in the second half when Bulldog midfielder Ilana Izquierdo took a shot that hit the crossbody and skidded into the goal.
Goalkeeper Mollee Swift was key in holding Mississippi State to a single goal and also scored one of her own on a penalty kick after a Bulldog handball.
“Honestly, I’ve practiced a lot knowing about placement and making sure I can do that for the team,” Swift said. “Making sure I do my job right every time is really important to me, and the fact that they had the confidence in me is really special.”
Swift’s goal was her second of the season and tied the game at 1-1. She also had two saves.
The go-ahead goal came in the 71st minute when forward Mollie Baker raced up the field and passed to midfielder Kelsey Major who quickly passed to forward Sage Glover near the goal. Glover shot the ball in for the lead.
Prior to the match, Hudson said the Bulldogs are an organized and defensively disciplined team, which remained true during play against LSU.
Mississippi State held the Tigers to 15 shots with eight of them being on goal.
While the Bulldogs statistically have held their opponents to low-scoring games with few shot opportunities, LSU made it clear it was going to attack early on offense and continue to create opportunities toward the goal.
“The girls are doing a great job at the moment of executing the game plan and jumping between systems and formations, high pressure and low pressure, and I think they are showing a lot of maturity in terms of the way they are playing,” Hudson said.
The Bulldogs’ goalkeeper Maddy Anderson was the defensive staple in stopping LSU from finishing at the goal in the first half.
Anderson had only allowed five goals prior to this game and repeatedly saved the Tigers’ shots. However, LSU now holds around 30% of the goals Mississippi State has allowed.
“I think this team’s got goals in them in every game and lots of different players contributed,” Hudson said. “We’re just really excited to obviously win two games this weekend. After a disappointing start against Ole Miss, this is the best response we could’ve asked for.”
LSU will face the Florida Gators at 6 p.m. Friday in Baton Rouge, as it tries to extend its SEC two-game winning streak.
