LSU soccer is relying on veteran leadership to push the team to its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2011.
This year, the Tigers’ lineup features 11 upperclassmen, nine of which are seniors, to make their most seasoned team since 2011, and they are hoping for similar results.
For several Tigers, this season is the last chance to experience success at the collegiate level. LSU coach Brian Lee said the older members of his team feel confident they can seize the opportunity.
“All of our seniors are very determined,” Lee said. “They’re really focused. They’re very serious in enforcing halftime adjustments. Their determination to have a good season is very, very strong.”
Team captains senior midfielder Natalia Gomez-Junco and senior midfielder Alex Arlitt lead the senior class as the only fifth-year players on the team. Neither player expected to be in an LSU uniform at this point, but both are playing integral roles in the team’s pursuit of its first postseason appearance in four years.
Gomez-Junco played for the University of Memphis in 2011 and 2012 before transferring to LSU. She sat out in 2013 to become eligible to play for the Tigers and has made her presence felt on the team since she stepped on the field.
She is LSU’s assist leader this year and is second in the Southeastern Conference in total assists. She also takes the majority of the team’s corner kicks and free kicks as LSU’s set piece specialist.
“We have a big senior class,” Gomez-Junco said. “All of us have stepped up in our leadership and carried the load of the team. The freshman and younger players have also displayed great leadership, but it starts with us, and we have to make sure everyone stays focused and locked in.”
Arlitt is in her fifth and final season with the Tigers after missing 10 games with an ankle injury last year. She’s back on the field this year after earning a medical redshirt and an extra year of eligibility.
LSU’s defense struggled without her in the lineup in 2014 in a five-win season. With Arlitt back, she is leading a much improved LSU back line.
Arlitt, the only player on the team with NCAA tournament experience, is a leader both on the field and in the locker room. Sophomore forward Jorian Baucom, LSU’s leading goal scorer, said she looks up to Arlitt.
“She holds everyone accountable,” Baucom said. “The passion she has for the game is incredible and we’ve loved having her back this year.”
Arlitt said she relishes her role as a leader on the team and takes pride in holding her teammates accountable. However, she said the younger players are just as important to the team’s success as the upperclassmen.
“It’s important for the upperclassmen to step up as leaders,” Arlitt said. “But I think it’s also important for everyone to do that whether they’re in the game or on the bench. At the end of the day we’re all in this together.”