With Southeastern Conference play just around the corner, the Tigers are looking for more consistency on both sides of  the ball.
This season has been up and down for the Tigers. They are trying to snap a three-game losing streak. In the first two matches of the season, offense was hard to come by. The Tigers took a total of 16 shots, 11 of which came in the first match against Villanova which resulted in a 1-0 victory.
That same trend continued in the second match against Navy, where LSU registered only a minimal five shots, but still came out with a 1-0 win in double overtime thanks to a sophomore forward Meghan Johnson game winner.
“Practice makes perfect and we have been working on increasing offensive opportunities every day at practice. Being with a new squad, we started working on defense and now are transitioning to offense,” said coach Debbie Hensley.
LSU then bounced back and exploded in its home-opener against McNeese State, shooting a total of 15 shots – one less than the two previous matches combined. The Tigers scored on their first shot of the match in the first five minutes and continued that pressure throughout the game.
There has not only been a lack of offensive consistency, but also defensive as well. Going into the season, there was a lot of talk among the back line about their inexperience and how they would hold up. With the help of junior goalkeeper Emma Grace Goldman, the Tigers were able to register two-straight shutouts.
The defense played stellar in one of their most recent matches against the number one team in the country, North Carolina at the Duke Nike Classic. LSU surrendered one goal late in the second half.
“It was a great opportunity for us to be able to compete against a team that is number one in the country,” said Hensley. “Being able to be in the game with them and have it be competitive gives us a huge confidence booster going into SEC play knowing we can hang with anyone in the country.”
In the second match of the Duke Nike Classic, the defense had one of its worst outings of the season, surrendering six goals to a Duke team that was ranked in the top-15 in the country. Duke was able to get 24 shots off, while the Tigers struggled to even get one.
“We need to continue to get better every day as a unit, it’s not all on the backline,” Goldman said. “We need to work on keeping our lines tight, communicating and having cover. If we can get that in the right direction, I think we will be good for SEC play.”