LSU can’t seem to stop Georgia junior midfielder Nicole Locandro.
Locandro scored UGA’s only goals against LSU for the second year in a row, but LSU scraped out a 2-2 double-overtime draw from a soggy Sunday match in Athens, Ga.
Locandro’s goals came just two minutes apart late in the second half before LSU freshman forward Colby Maffei buried an equalizer in the 84th minute to keep the Tigers (5-4-4, 1-3-2 SEC) unbeaten on the road this season.
LSU opened the weekend with a 1-0 win Friday night at Mississippi State for its first 2012 league win.
“With the current state of the SEC, no team should be unhappy with four points for a weekend road trip,” said LSU coach Brian Lee. “The win [Sunday] would have been nice, but it was an exciting match where we made a nice comeback and fought hard in overtime.”
Despite persistent possession for the Bulldogs (5-6-2, 1-3-2) near LSU’s net in the first half, it was the Tigers who found the net first.
In the 54th minute, Maffei dribbled down to the end line and found sophomore midfielder Alex Arlitt with a centering pass.
Arlitt buried it with her right foot mere yards from the goal to give LSU a tenuous lead.
“Once we moved Alex to the center midfield spot to start the second half, it totally changed the game for us,” Lee said. “Colby turned the corner composed and slotted a quality pass. The net was wide open for Alex.”
But the Bulldogs kept attacking, as the Tigers needed a dubious out-of-bounds call and an offsides to prevent two likely UGA goals in the ensuing minutes.
LSU junior goalkeeper Megan Kinneman saved a career-high 15 shots on goal as the Bulldogs piled up 35 total shots and eight corner kicks.
“They were just relentless, but the shots were usually from 30, 35 yards out,” Lee said. “Megan was fantastic as usual, but the stat sheet might be a little unrealistic as far as the saves go.”
She couldn’t hold off Georgia forever.
Locandro struck in the 78th minute off a failed LSU clearance, and she easily converted past Kinneman for her first goal of the season.
Two minutes later, a handball by LSU sophomore defender Jodi Calloway handed Georgia a penalty kick, which Locandro easily deposited past a stone-footed Kinneman.
Locandro also scored the Bulldogs’ lone goal in a 2-1 loss at LSU last season.
Three minutes after leading 1-0, the Tigers were suddenly the ones trailing in the final minutes, but UGA’s advantage was short-lived.
In the 84th minute, LSU freshman midfielder Victoria Sample fired a shot off the crossbar, and it ballooned into the air for several seconds.
Maffei corralled the ball in a scrum next to the net and deflected it in with her left foot for the equalizer.
“We were really pressing at that point,” Lee said. “The ball just hung up, and Colby fought people off.”
Maffei’s hand in both goals capped the first SEC road trip for six LSU freshman contributors.
“I thought they were great and handled the situations well,” Lee said. “There’s still inconsistencies we have to spend games working on cleaning up, but they made significant strides. The weekend was a success, so now we have to translate those improvements at home next weekend.”
