LSU soccer opened up its spring season on Friday afternoon with a 1-0 win against Southern Miss. The Tigers’ record now sits at 3-7-2 for the 2020-21 year. Junior Molly Thompson scored the game-winning goal of the match after forward Tinaya Alexander made a cross to her in the 44th minute.
“It was good to get a win under our belt to start the spring season,” Head Coach Sian Hudson said. “We used many players that we didn’t see a whole lot of in the fall and were able to use different tactics and systems throughout the match. The girls are getting more tactically versatile since we’ve arrived last spring which allowed us to make different changes to our system on the fly and ensure we got the victory.”
The Tigers came into the match strong, keeping possession and getting a chance right outside the box in the tenth minute. First-time starter Savannah Mills ripped a shot from twenty yards out that went soaring above the crossbar. More shots by Mills, Taylor Dobles and Wasila Diwura-Soale followed soon after but were all saved by the Golden Eagles’ goalkeeper Kendell Mindnich.
The ball finally hit the net right before the end of the first half. Alexander beat out two defenders before heading into the box to outrun a third before sending a cross over to Thompson who tapped it in only three yards out. This marks junior Alexander’s 15th assist in her career at LSU.
“It was a moment of magic from Tinaya that was met perfectly by Molly,” Hudson said. “[Molly] played well today and has worked tremendously hard to improve over the winter break and brought that sharpness out to the match and was rewarded with a goal for it.”
The rest of the match proceeded with a scoreless second half. Both teams switched out their goalkeepers after the 45th minute. Bella Zanotelli took sophomore Mollee Swift’s place in the net. The freshman recorded her first career save at the 55th minute when a half-volley came flying her way from Arial Diaz. The Colorado native garnered two more saves later in the half.
Junior Shannon Cooke received her third yellow card this year while Alexander was yellow-carded for the first time this season after a foul in the midfield. By the end of the match, the Tigers outshot Southern Miss 11-7.
LSU soccer’s next match will occur on Friday, Feb. 26 at 6:30 p.m. CT at the Auburn Soccer Complex. The Tigers’ next game to be streamed will be at home on March 5.
