LSU soccer remains undefeated  after taking down No. 22 Cincinnati on Thursday for their first win over a ranked opponent since 2015.
The Tigers tied the record for the best start in school history with the 1-0 win.
With Cincinnati being the first ranked team LSU has faced this season, this win makes a strong push for the Tigers’ case to be ranked after a historic start.
The offense started off the game aggressively as they have most of the year using the team’s speed to place pressure on the Bearcats early.
“It’s always a focal point to be on the front foot and get started and set the tone for the game.” coach Brian Lee said. “I thought the last game our two we’ve kind of taken our foot off the pedal a little bit against Liberty and the game before that as well. So it was a big emphasis tonight and I thought we came out flying on the front foot and played very well.”
The aggressive attack led to junior Alex Thomas scoring the only goal of the game off of an assist from freshman Tinaya Alexander set up by sophomore Jade Clark in the final minute of the first half.
It was Thomas’s fourth goal of the season tying senior Zoe Higgins for the team goal leader.
“We knew that this team fought hard and that they would be blue collar and work hard the whole time.” Thomas said. “So we just knew we had to match that and be even better at it so we came out super aggressive.”
The shot also gave Alexander her seventh straight game with an assist tying the school streak record and leaving her only down one assist from the current national assist leader, Anna Beffer of Oklahoma State.
“She’s a really exciting creative attacking player who’s just scratching the surface on her potential,” Lee said of Alexander’s performance. “She’s got top end talent and the girls around her really enjoy playing with her. One of the wonderful things about [Alexander] is she’s got no ego at all. She’s a wonderful teammate and engaged defensively as well so she’s easy to like.”
For Lee, the biggest difference between this team and previous teams is the depth coming off the bench.

“There’s four or five kids who can not only maintain the level but in the right game for them they can raise the level,” Lee said.
The defense also was a huge factor in Thursday’s victory securing another clean sheet for the Tigers after holding on late in a dramatic second half finish.
Senior goalkeeper Caroline Brockmeier had four saves on the night including an incredible second effort grab with three minutes left in the game to secure the win.“That was a very SEC type game.” Lee said. “If you’re winning by a goal late in the game against a quality opponent in division 1 soccer, they’re gonna put some pressure on you and you’re gonna sit in a little and have to deal with it and that’s something we’ve gotten very good at this year.”
With this win, the Tigers wrap up their nonconference schedule and head into SEC play this Sunday at 4 p.m. against Vanderbilt at home.
“I’m looking for us to go all the way as far as we can,” Thomas said. “We really enjoy playing with each other so the chemistry is great so it’s just really fun to be going this far with them and we’re a really great team off the field as well. I just think that we can go so far and that’s our goal.”