Moving their record to 7-0, the 2022 LSU soccer team made program history defeating ULL in a 5-0 blowout. After finishing with a 2-2-7 record last fall, the Tigers are currently ranked No. 7 this season. The team set the new record for most consecutive wins when securing their 10th victory of the season on Thursday night. The previous record for most wins in a row at nine has been held by the 2002 team for 20 years.
“Huge amounts of momentum for our program right now as we’ve started the season off with seven wins (for the official season) in a row,” head coach Sian Hudson said after the match. “Really proud of everything we have accomplished since we set foot on campus. The sheer amount of effort our girls are putting in and the way they play for each other is just a credit to them.”
The Tigers started the night off in the lead in Lafayette with a goal in the 16th minute by forward Molly Thompson. The first point of the game came from a cross in the box by fellow forward Rammie Noel, the junior’s team-high third assist of the year. Senior Thompson capitalized on the moment with another goal 17 yards out just five minutes later, catching the third brace of her collegiate career.
“One of the amazing things about our team is that we’ve have so many people that can produce on the field and score goals and just really open us up,” Thompson said after giving thanks to the various teammates who assisted her in these goals.
After an attempted assist, forward Tinaya Alexander followed through in the next minute, carrying the ball from the midfield and into the box. She finished with a shot into the top corner of the net to mark the third goal for the team right before halftime. The goal marked Alexander’s sixth of the season.
Despite the gap in scoring, the Tigers had no plans on slowing down when they returned to the field in the second half and scored another goal from senior Thompson. The Houma native scored a hat trick in the 51st minute, the very first in her collegiate career and LSU’s 20th in collegiate history.
Alexander assisted on the fourth goal of the game, tallying in for the 19th in her career and tying her for the fifth spot in the team’s history of career assists.
“I think she showed her capabilities tonight” Hudson said. “[She had] three really different goals, a quality hat trick for Molly. I think she’s our third player this season to get a hat trick, so that’s just great to see that level of production coming from our front line.”
As for the Tigers’ defensive side, a combined effort from goalkeepers Mollee Swift and Jade Odom left the Ragin Cajuns scoreless the entire night, similar to three other matches this season, when the opposing team finished with a total of zero goals for the night. Swift commanded the first half of this match, registering three saves in the seventh, 19th and 44th minutes. Odom made a phenomenal debut for LSU in the second half. The graduate student followed suit, keeping ULL out of the posts for the remainder of the match.
LSU capped the night off with a final score in the 81st minute by senior Meghan Johnson. Defender Grace Haggerty made a connection to midfielder Tiana Caffey, who carried the ball down until finding Johnson. From there, the forward lifted the ball into the top right corner of the net to secure her first of the season and fourth of her collegiate career. The goal marked Caffey’s first assist of the season and Haggerty’s first assist on a play in her career.
“You know, that wasn’t even one of our best [performances] today and the fact that we got a clean sheet is just a testament to how good of a team we are,” Thompson told reporters on the field after being asked about teamwork.
As the game concluded, the Tigers were thrilled to walk away with their third clean defensive sheet in the last four games and second-highest score in a match this season.
“We’ve had a really difficult couple of weeks on the road, so we’re definitely give the girls a mental break and hit the reset button,” Hudson said. “Then come Monday, we’ll start turning our attention to Mississippi State.”
The team kicked off the semester with three exhibition wins, followed by seven season wins consisting of three ranked teams. Their highest scoring win of the season, 8-0, was Aug. 22 against Sam Houston.
Now ending non-conference play with 37 goals and a new set record, the Tigers are resting in lieu for their first SEC matchup on Sept. 17 against Mississippi State. Fans can catch the game in Baton Rouge at 7 p.m. on Friday.
“Certainly hoping to get a lot of fans for that one and pack the stands,” Hudson said after the game. “[We] can’t wait to get going with our SEC season. There’s obviously tons of confidence in the group at the moment, and we just wanna start the same as we’ve been going this season and show the SEC what we’re all about.”