The LSU soccer team hopes to extend its unbeaten streak when it takes on the Ball State Cardinals at 7:30 p.m. tonight at the LSU Soccer Stadium. It will be the first ever meeting on the pitch between the two programs.
The match is LSU’s first in the Stomp in the Swamp tournament at the LSU Soccer Stadium this weekend, and the Tigers will conclude the tournament with a matinee against Indiana on Sunday afternoon. It will be preceded by a game between Indiana and Middle Tennessee State, who also are in town for the tournament.
The Tigers (3-0-1, 0-0 Southeastern Conference) enter the match on a two-game winning streak. After sweeping the competition at the Battle on the Bayou tournament last weekend, LSU is off to its best four-game start since 2008.
“We think we’re progressively getting better,” said LSU coach Brian Lee. “From a result standpoint, we’re perfectly happy, and we just have to continue to take it one game at a time.”
After trailing 1-0 at halftime, LSU used an offensive onslaught in the second half to defeat Western Kentucky for its second win of the season last Friday. The Tigers carried that momentum into last Sunday when they defeated Minnesota, 1-0, courtesy of a header in the 70th minute scored by sophomore forward Jorian Baucom.
Baucom is the Tigers’ leading scorer for the season, with three goals and a registered assist in the game against Western Kentucky. She said she likes where the team is at this stage in the season, but it’s important the players continue to improve and build on the recent success.
“We’re feeling pretty confident, but there’s a lot of things we need to clean up and work on,” Baucom said. “We’re working hard to improve in practice, and I think we’re ready to compete on Friday and get another win.”
Baucom has spearheaded a diverse LSU attack that has featured goals from six different players. Highly-touted freshmen forwards Alex Thomas and Gabriela Maldonado have each scored the first goals of their collegiate careers.
Ball State (3-1, 0-0 Mid-American Conference) also enter Friday’s match with some momentum after sweeping Wright State and Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne last weekend.
Lee said the Tigers can’t take the Cardinals lightly if they want to continue their stellar start to the season. He said it will take 90 minutes of discipline for his team to get another win, but he feels good about where the team is at this point in the season.
“We have a committed group of players this season that has worked very hard for nine months to put themselves in a position to succeed at the highest level this fall,” Lee said. “That hard work is paying off in the early part of the season, and we’re looking to build on that with two tough opponents coming in this weekend.”