On Sunday, the No. 9 LSU soccer team fell 4-0 to Florida at the Donald R. Dizney Stadium in Gainesville, Florida. A loss at the hands of the Gators, who are No. 12 in SEC standings, will likely have a detrimental effect on the Tigers’ ticket to the 2021 SEC Tournament.
The stats were stacked against Florida prior to their Senior Day game. Though the teams had identical SEC records of 3-5-0, LSU boasted seven more wins than the Gators overall. Also, the Tigers have registered 35 goals this season, while Florida has only made 13.
Even though LSU kept possession of the ball for the majority of the match, and goalkeeper Mollee Swift made 5 solid saves, the team endured a shutout from the Gators, who now sit at the bottom of the top-10 SEC standings.
The surprising blowout could be blamed on the Tigers’ accuracy and ability to finish on target.
The Purple and Gold outshot Florida 10 to 9 and took double the number of corners. However, the team couldn’t capitalize on any of those chances for the duration of the match. The Gators were putting everything they could into the net. Florida made a total of nine shots that were all on goal. Only half of LSU’s shots were on goal.
On the defensive side, the keeper Swift still made five saves in the match despite the four goals she allowed. She has registered 61 saves on the season, putting her at No. 6 in the NCAA rankings for saves. In addition, she sits in the No. 4 spot for saves per game.
The Gators’ first goal came in the 15th minute after Swift lost her grip on a catch and allowed an attacker to easily knock it in. The team scored again in the second with a ground shot in the box. Both goals came from assists by Florida’s Kit Loferski. Their last two goals of the match came off a corner kick, which was redirected by a header into the goal, and a penalty kick, respectively.
The Tigers fought the whole way through, despite the massive gap reflected on the LED jumbotron at the Dizney Stadium. Meghan Johnson made an on-goal shot after beating Florida’s goalkeeper for a free net. Unfortunately, her shot was still thwarted by one of the defenders. Several other chances were squandered, with shots flying over the net and wide to the left and the right.
LSU soccer will return home for the final match of their season, against Arkansas on Thursday night. The Razorbacks are No. 1 in the league and currently undefeated in the conference. Prior to the ball dropping at 7 p.m. CT, the group of seniors will be honored at the LSU Soccer Stadium as part of LSU’s senior night.
