The LSU soccer team is looking to make its first NCAA Tournament run since 2015, but they need to finish strong in the remaining matches to even be in consideration.
The Tigers have already surpassed last season’s record of 7-11-1, but they sit at 8-5-2 with three games remaining in the season. Since getting off to a program record 7-0 start this season, LSU has gone 1-5-2 is the subsequent matches.
For all the good that has come from this season following the let down in 2016, there are still many things that need to be fixed as the Tigers near the Southeastern Conference Tournament in Orange Beach, Alabama, and the NCAA Tournament.
LSU coach Brian Lee sees both of those things in reach, but he believes that the problems are more in the mindset and determination than in the talent of the team.
“I just think we need to keep working as a team,” junior goalkeeper Caroline Brockmeier said. “The more we do that, the better chance we have. We’ve got to keep our heads high and keep focusing on the next game.”
The SEC is a tough conference to play in, no matter the sport, but the Tigers have struggled especially in those games.
With just a 1-4-2 SEC record, their chances of making the NCAA Tournament are higher than the SEC Tournament, depending on the three final games in the regular season.
As the season comes to a close, those SEC wins become even more important to the growth of the team as a whole.
“You know, we’ve got five freshman starting and another one coming off the bench, playing a ton of minutes so it’s their first rodeo with this and the SEC is a tough place to grow up,” Lee said. “We’re going to keep growing with them and keep progressing.”
The youth on this LSU team has been both a blessing and a curse in many ways.
Freshmen midfielder Lucy Parker, forward Tinaya Alexander, defender Tiana Caffey and defender Chiara Ritchie-Williams have all started in every game of their freshman season and have all become important assets to this LSU team.
“It’s a great feeling,” Brockmeier said. “Us being able to work as a team, especially having all the freshman contribute and trusting them. They have giant roles on the team right now, so it’s a comforting feeling.”
Lee has often said the younger players have a hard time keeping up with the pace and physicality of collegiate and SEC style play.
This especially affects the backline, where two freshmen start and another comes off the bench, as they are often worn out and sit back on their heels by the end of the game.
“Goals come in bunches, and we’ve got to react better when we give up a goal,” Lee said. “We do have a lot of freshman and sophomores playing and we’re a very young team, but in the last couple of weeks, one goal has become two or three very quickly. We’ve got to get focused on that.”
As the team works through the last few weeks of the season to develop and grow together, smaller things throughout the game, like not focusing on a mistake or perfecting short distance passes, will make all the difference.
“I think we just have to keep moving the ball through the midfield and passing it out wide and keep working as a team,” Brockmeier said. “That’s where our chances will come from.”
Working together as a team will be the key going forward this season, Lee said. The players trusting each other and buckling down at game time may prove to be the difference between a win and a loss.
“They’ve really just got to believe in each other,” Lee said. “I think when you’ve 7-0 record early in the season, everything is great. Then when you lose a game self-doubt can creep in, and you’ve just got to guard against that and have confidence in yourself and have confidence in your teammates and keep moving forward and keep doing the work.”