It was a hot one in Baton Rouge on Sunday, but that didn’t stop LSU soccer from shutting out Texas A&M Commerce, increasing the team’s record to 4-2.
In the first meeting between the Lions and the Tigers, LSU recorded two season highs. The Tigers scored six goals and had 26 shots, which is the highest in one game for LSU so far this season.
Coming off a 3-0 loss to Wisconsin on Thursday, the Tigers showed resilience against Texas A&M Commerce.
“We’re really pleased,” head coach Sian Hudson said. “You know the disappointing result on Thursday night, but there’s been a consistent theme this season of recovering after adversity and having the right mentality and bouncing back.”
In the first 20 minutes of play, the Tigers were aggressive on offense; however, for every LSU shot in the box, a Lion defender was there with a block or A&M Commerce goalkeeper Gillian McKenzie came through with the save.
LSU kept up the aggressive play. It was in the 22nd minute that forward Sage Glover scored on an assist from forward Ida Hermannsdottir and forward Mollie Baker.
With under two minutes left in the first half, midfielder Raelyn Prince scored her first goal of the season on a long shot outside the box. The assist came from midfielder Jordan Johnson.
The Tigers came into the second half ready to increase their 2-0 lead.
The first goal in the second half came early with a header from forward Britney Bertram. Five minutes later, midfielder Kelsey Major scored on an assist from defender Caley Swierenga.
In the 83rd minute, forward Rammie Noel scored unassisted on a loose ball. The last goal came in the 85th minute from Major who recorded a brace for the day. It was her first two goals of the season.
“I definitely think after that Wisconsin game, we really wanted to have a strong performance today, especially goal wise,” Major said. “We wanted to get the offense going and wanted to keep the clean sheet and have an overall positive performance.”
The six goals came from five different players, again showing the depth of this LSU team.
“(I’m) really excited to see the team’s performance today and see goals and assists coming from so many different players,” Hudson said. “It’s been really exciting to see.”
The clean sheet wouldn’t have been possible without LSU’s fight on defense. They held the Lions to three shots with zero of those on target.
The Tigers will hope to increase their record to 5-2 on Thursday against Pepperdine at home.
