The LSU soccer team fell out of a tie for the top spot in the Southeastern Conference after losing a crucial home match, 4-1, to South Carolina on Thursday night at the LSU Soccer Stadium.
Three Gamecock goals on headers off set pieces, sloppy passing by the LSU midfield and a surprisingly soft Tiger defensive performance ruined the send-off of five Tiger senior starters on senior night.
The loss marked LSU’s first defeat at the LSU Soccer Stadium this season after compiling a 7-0-1 home mark during an eight-match homestand last month.
The Tigers (11-6-1, 6-3 SEC) actually struck the first scoring blow in the match with senior Taryne Boudreau’s goal in the 18th minute.
South Carolina senior defender Ellen Fahey’s takedown of LSU senior midfielder Allysha Chapman earned Fahey a yellow card and set up a Tiger free kick from 20 yards out, which Boudreau deposited in the net with a virtuous curling kick.
“We’ve been practicing that free kick setup, and I hit it confidently,” Boudreau said. “It came off my feet well and worked around the keeper.”
The goal was Boudreau’s 10th of the season.
The fun was finished for LSU, however, as a fluid Gamecock offensive attack continued a prolific scoring run with its fifth game of three or more goals in the Gamecocks’ (13-5, 7-2 SEC) now six-match winning streak.
South Carolina freshman midfielder Ariane Lukens led the way for the Gamecocks, scoring her team’s first two goals with consecutive headers off corner kicks.
After a team save by LSU junior Reyna Lubin on a diving kick-out set up a South Carolina corner kick in the 35th minute, Lukens took a deflected header and deposited the ball past senior goalkeeper Mo Isom, tying the game.
“I thought the match started the way I envisioned it, really strong,” said LSU coach Brian Lee. “The team felt like we had the game in hand at 1-nil, but we made a tactical awareness mistake that led to the corner and the goal.”
Lukens struck again soon after halftime on a remarkably similar corner sequence to put South Carolina ahead, 2-1, in the 51st minute. From there, the Gamecock rout was on, as LSU surrendered two more Carolina goals during a 90-second span in the 66th and 68th minutes.
LSU entered the match in a four-way tie for first place in the SEC with South Carolina, Florida and Georgia, but are now a long shot to claim the title with two games remaining.
But the Tigers could sneak back in the SEC race, or at least affect it, as LSU travels to Florida on Sunday for a road showdown. The Gators survived a tricky road trip to SEC West cellar dweller Arkansas with a 2-1 overtime victory Thursday.
Florida has won five straight SEC championships and holds the No. 5 spot in the latest RPI standings.
Lee said his team will have to regroup quickly with another demanding conference test in the Gators awaiting the dejected Tiger squad.
“We have to take our chances on Sunday,” Lee said. “That’s a game that we have to win, and we’ll need to play and especially defend better than we showed tonight to do that.”
 
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Contact Chris Abshire at [email protected]