The longest winning streak in LSU soccer history came to an end Sunday afternoon in Oxford, Miss.Ole Miss (3-5-2, 1-1) bested the No. 9 Tigers (7-1,1-1), 1-0, to end the streak.Prior to this weekend’s contests, LSU had outscored opponents 25-3 through seven contests and hadn’t trailed in any of its games.The Tigers split their Southeastern Conference opening weekend games, beating Mississippi State on Friday night.”It’s always disappointing to lose,” said LSU coach Brian Lee. “Ole Miss did a good job of fighting physically for every header and loose ball … We certainly didn’t play our best and imprint our style of play on the game.”Ole Miss’ lone goal came at the 62-minute mark when senior defender Austin Brown scored her first goal of the season from three yards out off an assist from senior midfielder Jennifer Hance. “A loose ball kinda bounced Ole Miss’ way,” Lee said. “They got a goal, and we couldn’t get it back.”Lee said he felt LSU didn’t capitalize on its opportunities and missed out on several chances to score. The Tigers defeated the Bulldogs (5-6, 0-2), 4-1, on Friday in Starkville to open up SEC play.LSU hasn’t lost its SEC opener since losing to Kentucky in 2004. Lee has never lost the first SEC match of any season, having arrived at LSU in 2005.”[Friday] was a good start,” Lee said. “All SEC road games are going to be extremely tough. Mississippi State came out with a good game plan.”Junior forward Rachel Yepez had two goals for LSU in the second half to put the Bulldogs away.With the score tied at halftime, Yepez put in her first goal — a rebound from inside the six-yard box — at the 58-minute mark to give the Tigers the lead for good.Junior midfielders Malorie Rutledge and Melissa Clarke added the other two scores for the Tigers. “It was a good test for our team at that point,” Lee said. “We played really well and were fortunate enough to score four and have a fairly comfortable win.”Rutledge broke LSU’s all-time assist record with her 23rd and 24th career assists.—-Contact Johanathan Brooks at [email protected]
Soccer: Tigers lose first match of season
By Johanathan Brooks
Sports Contributor
Sports Contributor
September 27, 2008