As lightning bolts took over the Auburn Soccer Complex on Thursday night, the Tigers took over the pitch with heat-seeking goals in LSU soccer’s 3-1 win over Auburn, which concluded after an almost three-hour-long weather delay.
Entering this game, LSU’s promising non-conference results were being whisked toward obscurity by a scoreless tie and two one-goal losses to open SEC play.
The stark issue was the offense not completing opportunities in front of the opposing goal, but the Tigers took those offensive shortcomings seriously on Thursday.
The three goals LSU netted at Auburn were the most they have scored in an SEC game this year and only the third time they have scored that many all season. With help from the offense, the defense was able to do what they have done best all year.
Auburn kept the ball on offense for the majority of the match, continuously getting down the field and taking shots. The home Tigers ended up outshooting the visitors 22-6.
Shots poured in, but Auburn was only able to put seven of those on goal.
LSU goalkeeper Sophine Kevorkian started for the first time in three weeks and was lights out in the first half. Auburn only put two shots on goal in the opening 45, and the first was saved with ease among the barrage of shots in the first 15 minutes.
Kevorkian and the defense, stuffing the opposing Tigers, gave the purple and gold a chance to move forward on offense.
Like in the game against Alabama, Ava Galligan did not start for LSU but was subbed in during the 18th minute.
LSU immediately got a chance to open the scoring with a corner kick. Jazmin Ferguson made contact with the ball as it came from the far corner, but sent it wide left.
This loss of possession led to another bombardment from the Auburn offense. Five shots poured in quick succession, but none forced Kevorkian to leave her feet.
As the scoreless half was winding down, LSU head coach Sian Hudson gave a stress-filled wipe to her face as Ida Hermannsdottir lined up to inbound the team’s third corner kick of the game. A high kick pinballed four times in the middle scrum before bouncing outside the box.
Defender Sydney Cheesman fired a missile off her right foot into the top left corner of the goal, out of reach of Auburn keeper Ayana Yapo. Cheesman’s teammates ran to celebrate with her after the senior scored her first goal of the year and only second of her career.
LSU did not lose focus after leading for the first time in an SEC game this year. The ball was quickly brought to the defensive side of the field, and an Auburn corner kick led to a shot similar to Cheesman’s, but Kevorkian leaped up to swat the ball away from the top right corner of the goal.
A couple of substitutions and passes ended the first half with LSU ahead 1-0.
Bad weather loomed as the second half got underway, but play was not stopped in an attempt to finish the contest before lightning reached within eight miles of the stadium.
LSU’s offense picked up right where it left off and sent two shots saved just within minutes of each other.
Auburn got its chance next.
A free kick was cleared in front of the LSU net before being sent back outside the box. A rushed and contested shot from Auburn’s Erin Flurey almost matched the distance of Cheesman’s, as Flurey sent a rocket to the top side of the goal.
The hot shot tied the game at one in the 53rd minute.
Three shots from Auburn and a corner kick from each team were all that both sets of Tigers could manage for the next 14 minutes. Both cats were clawing their way toward a lead, but neither defense would suffer a shot on goal until LSU got a chance after a 67th-minute pass into the penalty box.
Six-foot-tall Ava Galligan rose up and delivered a header with perfect accuracy into the top left corner of the goal. She netted the go-ahead goal for her sixth of the year, continuing to be the most reliable goal scorer for LSU.
The LSU offense finally found its rhythm inside the penalty area, the place where its offensive attacks went to die in previous games.
Once LSU had gone up 2-1, the abnormalities began.
In the second half, ESPN cameras were abandoned as radars detected lightning within an eight-mile radius. Auburn’s event management radar did not receive the same reading, so the game continued, despite a somewhat miserable viewing experience for fans at home.
In the 70th minute, ESPN resumed coverage with the additional angles on the field. At that exact moment, a review for a foul against LSU was underway when Auburn’s radar detected game-suspending lightning strikes.
According to SEC rules, games that can’t be resumed could be marked as completed as long as 70 minutes are played. Yet, the two teams agreed to wait out the weather and attempt to finish the game that night.
That wait lasted two hours and 45 minutes.
As the storm ended, the restlessness coming from each locker room was palpable as both teams returned to the field and resumed play at 10:30 p.m. local time.
Auburn got the first real opportunity to score after the delay, when Gracie Brown shot from about 45 yards out. Kevorkian had to jump to her right to make a stellar save, keeping the lead for LSU.
The page turned when LSU had an offensive breakaway on the left side of the field from freshman sensation Sariyah Bailey. Bailey delivered two beautiful touches to avoid Auburn’s defender and goalkeeper and shot on an open net to seemingly put the dagger in the game.
Auburn would not die that easily.
Kevorkian and the LSU defense were put to work in the final 10 minutes, with Kevorkian making three saves, which were routine for the senior goalkeeper as LSU secured the victory.
The victorious Tigers brought home three points in the standings and left Auburn with their first win on the Plains since 2009.
LSU has the weekend off and will next face Missouri at home on Thursday, Oct. 2, in its annual pink game.
The Tigers had shown resilience earlier in the season, but for the first time, demonstrated their ability to score clutch goals and win crucial games against conference opponents. Hudson has her team in a good spot to keep earning points for the SEC tournament.
