The LSU soccer team’s magical season ended Sunday afternoon in Round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers were defeated 4-0 by Florida State following a 1-0 win against Samford in the firstround Friday. Florida State controlled the first half of play, recording 17 shots compared to five for LSU. The Seminoles also had nine first -half corner kicks. Senior Holly Peltzer put the Seminoles on the board in the 20th minute, beating LSU senior goalkeeper Valerie Vogler for her third goal of the season. Peltzer’s goal was Vogler’s only blemish of the first half, as the St. Louis native kept LSU close with five saves. The Seminoles continued to dictate the tempo of the match in the second half of play, going ahead 2-0 on a 67th minute goal by senior Kirsten van de Ven. Florida State scored two insurance goals in the 73rd and 74th minutes to put the Tigers away. “Florida State is a great team and one of the premier programs in women’s college soccer,” said LSU coach Brian Lee. “They just wore us down today with good play. They do a great job of passing and possessing the ball in the attack, and we had to chase them throughout the match.” LSU defeated Samford 1-0 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday in the team’s ninth overtime match of the season. Junior Roslyn Jones scored the golden goal in the seventh minute of double overtime and the 107th minute of the match to give LSU its first NCAA Tournament victory in school history. LSU freshman Taryne Boudreau and sophomore Rachel Yepez each nearly ended the match for LSU, hitting the crossbar on shots in double overtime, but Jones rebounded the Yepez shot into the back of the net to seal the win. “I always make sure that I frame every shot, and I was just waiting for that opportunity tonight,” Jones said. “[Boudreau’s shot] bounced right over my head, but the [Yepez’s shot] was perfect. I stayed composed and headed it in. I knew we were going to keep shooting, and I just tried to put myself in the best possible position for a rebound.” LSU dominated the better part of the match against the Bulldogs, outshooting Samford 27 to six, but the Tigers were unable to take the lead thanks to junior goalkeeper Cayley Winters’ eight saves. “We had a few chances earlier in the match to get a lead, but you have to credit Samford for the way they defended us all night,” Lee said. “You also have to give a lot of credit to [Jones], [Yepez] and the rest of our kids for battling until the very end.” Samford coach Todd Yelton said his team struggled because three of the team’s contributors missed the game because of injuries. “I’m so proud of this group of players,” Yelton said. “They never made excuses, even tonight, with players out due to injury. That’s what you want to teach your kids. That’s what you want to teach your players. It’s a life lesson. Everyone in life faces adversity, but if you go on to invest time and energy in it, then good things happen for you.” With only two of LSU’s 11 starters being seniors, Lee said LSU’s future will be a bright one. “We’re excited about the future of LSU soccer,” Lee said. “[Sunday] was a great learning experience for our young team, and we’ll work to get back next year and see if we can be a Sweet 16 team or better.”
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