The LSU women’s soccer team kicked off the 2018 soccer season on Saturday looking to build on their success from last year.
The Tigers faced off against Villanova, falling to the Wildcats 2-1 after two weather delays postponed the game for nearly two hours. The weather delays seemed to affect the Tigers as they ended up with 13 corner kicks but were unable to convert on any of them.
Senior forward Alex Thomas scored the lone goal for the Tigers after a Villanova penalty in the 66th minute awarded the Tigers with a penalty kick. The goal brings Thomas’ career total to 11 after a great junior season that saw her lead LSU with eight goals.
“We had a composed chance in the box and got a penalty,” coach Brian Lee said. “Alex took it very well.”
The team brought back 15 letterwinners from last year’s team that saw them finish the season with an 8-7-3 record. The Tigers are led by its strong senior class that includes Thomas, Christyna Pitre and Caroline Brockmeier. All three players had stellar junior seasons as they look to return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015.
Pitre, an experienced midfielder, comes into the season having played in 44 career contests during her three-year career at LSU.
Brockmeier returns for her last season, having tallied 14-career shutouts at goalie while recording a career best 1.14 goals against average last season. With 14 shutouts in her first two seasons on campus Brockmeier enters the season ranked fifth in program history in shutouts.
Lee leads the Tigers once again as hhe enters his 14th season with the team. Lee holds a 130-101-42 career record at LSU, accounting for nearly 40 percent of the soccer team’s wins during his tenure.
The Tigers are also lead by three talented sophomores who shined in their freshman campaigns.
Chiara Ritchie-Williams was a key player on the defensive side of the ball, starting all 18 matches for the Tigers. Ritchie-Williams’ impressive defensive ability earned her second team All-SEC honors making it 14 consecutive years that LSU has had an All-SEC representative.
Tinaya Alexander, another talented sophomore, will look to build on her offensive success from last season as she led the team in assists with seven while scoring three goals of her own. Lucy Parker also returns hoping to improve on the offensive side of the ball where she scored three goals and assisted on four others.
Out of the Tigers’ 18-match season, three of their matches will be televised. Two will appear nationally on the ESPN networks and the third on Cox Sports Television. With the loss in the opening week, the Tigers will try to control what they can and strive to make it back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in three seasons.
The team has a great opportunity to get on the winning side of things with an away matchup against Liberty on Aug. 23 and returns home to face Texas State scheduled for Aug. 26.