The LSU Tigers soccer team hasn’t been to the NCAA
Tournament since 2015, but that will almost certainly change after the Tigers won their first two games in the Southeastern Conference Tournament against Missouri and No. 12 Tennessee.
The Tigers got an incredible performance from senior utility player Alex Thomas, who scored all three goals against Mizzou on Oct. 28 the third being the most important of them all, as she scored the game-winning penalty kick in double-overtime to send the Tigers to the second round where they faced the second-seed Tennessee.
The Tigers got on the board early against the Volunteers in the second half with a goal from freshman Shannon Cooke, her first of the season, and one of the most important goals of the season.
The score remained 1-0 until nearly the 88th minute when the Volunteers looped a ball over sophomore Lucy Parker, who tried to clear the ball away but missed, and Volunteer senior forward Bunny Shaw controlled the ball, dribbled into the box and beat senior goalkeeper Caroline Brockmeier to her near post to even the score 1-1.
Two overtimes brought no game-winner, so the game was sent to penalty kicks. The shootout proved to be as dramatic as regular time, with the two teams trading goals in the first two rounds, but junior midfielder Marlena Cutura’s shot was saved in the third round.
The Volunteers went up 3-2, but the Tigers responded with a goal and a save to even it back up 3-3. Both teams scored in round five, and then both saved shots in the sixth, leading to sudden death penalty kicks. Both teams made their shots in the seventh and eighth rounds, but then in the ninth round, Brockmeier came up with a save, giving the Tigers a chance to win with a goal.
Freshman forward Meghan Johnson stepped up to the spot, having only five appearances in the season, but drilled the shot to the top left corner becoming, the unlikeliest of heroes for the Tigers.
The win over Tennessee firmly places LSU in the NCAA Tournament, and another win on Thursday against the winner of Texas A&M/South Carolina could bring the Tigers into the hosting conversation.
The Tigers RPI currently sits at 33, but after their win over Tennessee, who’s RPI is 8, LSU’s RPI should jump at least three to four spots, vaulting the Tigers into the top 30. The top 32 teams in the nation host first round games, and it would be hard to leave an LSU team out that would have six top-50 RPI wins if they beat South Carolina/Texas A&M.
Needless to say, the Tigers have had an incredible run in the past two months, and after a slow start to the season, it would have been easy to count them out. Now they control their own destiny as far as the NCAA Tournament is concerned.
The Tigers will play for all of their hosting aspirations on Nov. 1 in the SEC Tournament semi-final against the winner of South Carolina/Texas A&M, with a 6 p.m. start time on the SEC Network.