LSU soccer opened up their season with a defeat Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023, to South Florida, 1-0 at the LSU Soccer Stadium. 

With the temperature well above 95 degrees and a packed stadium, LSU struggled for the majority of the first half to make any impact on the game. 

LSU graduate student forward Taylor Dobles made impressive runs into the box but was missing a striker in the final third to fully threaten USF’s defense.  

By the 16th minute, USF junior defender Georgia Brown was assisted by sophomore forward/ midfielder Gentiana Fetaj, scoring the opening goal with a powerful header off a corner kick.

Since scoring, USF looked even more threatening shooting shots whenever they could only for it to be off target or saved by LSU graduate student goalkeeper Mollee Swift. 

Successful short passes and winning tackles when LSU was in possession of the ball also allowed USF to dominate for most of the first half. 

At the start of the second half, LSU came on the pitch with a new found spirit.

Within the first 10 minutes, LSU earned their first corners of the match with sophomore midfielder Ida Hermannsdottir leading the attack.  

But by the time LSU finally started to threaten USF, it was too late. With a few minutes left on the clock, USF’s defense was not letting anything pass them. 

“Obviously, I’m really disappointed to lose our home opener. I felt we had some really good moments in the game, but we just didn’t capitalize,” said LSU head coach Sian Hudson. “Overall, we just weren’t clinical enough in the final third with our final action, whether it be service or a shot.”

LSU starts the season 0-1 with the loss, but will have a chance to redeem itself Sunday with a home game against Southern Miss.