Many people today picture the best athletes to be tall and strong, but LSU soccer’s best are the shortest ones on the field.
Of LSU’s starting forwards and wingers, senior Nicole Howard is the tallest at 5’6”, with junior Alex Thomas at 5’1”, freshman Tinaya Alexander at 5’3” and senior Zoe Higgins at 5’4”.
Height can completely change the way a player carries herself and the team, but the Tigers have managed to take their height and use it to their advantage.
“The advantage is that I rarely fall,” Thomas said. “Our center of gravity is really low, you know, so we have good balance. Obviously if the ball is in the air, we’re not going to win all of the headers. It’s harder because you’re shorter.”
Both Thomas and LSU coach Brian Lee assert that, despite her height, Higgins is one of the best players on the team when it comes to balls in the air.
A header won off of a free kick in a Southeastern Conference match against Mississippi State directly led to a goal by Thomas to equalize the game.
One of the Tigers’ biggest challenges this season has been their ability to turn corner kicks and free kicks into goals off of set pieces.
“We practice it a lot,” Lee said. “We’re working on it. We’re not a big team, height wise necessarily, you know, so we’ve got to be a little bit creative. We’ve come close a couple of times, but nothing to come of it.”
Even without scoring on set pieces, they have managed to outscore opponents 20 to 5, with Thomas, Higgins and Alexander making up for 13 of those goals between the three of them.
“I’ve been this tall for like my whole life so it’s kind of just something I deal with,” Thomas said. “It doesn’t stop me.”
It truly is not stopping her, as Thomas’ two goals against Mississippi State put her ahead of Higgins for the season leading scorer. Her goal scoring proficiency has turned her into a more vocal leader both on and off the field.
“I’ve found myself having to speak up more and be open and talk to my teammates because I know they are looking to me to say like ‘hey, we got this, let’s go,’” Thomas said. “I have to constantly remind myself to get them on board and talk to them.”
Lee describes a learning curve with the younger players once they reach SEC play, with the physicality and aggression as the competition gets tougher.
That physicality would likely stand out even more for a smaller freshman, but Alexander does not let her height or her age stop her from being one of the most aggressive players on the field. She has three goals and two yellow cards to show for it.
As a freshman, she has dominated on the right wing all season, leading the team with seven assists.
“She’s a good player,” Lee said. “We think she’s got high end potential. You don’t get a chance to coach that many kids along the line with that kind of special talent.”
Thomas, Higgins and Alexander have that special talent to not let their height affect the way they perform on the field. All three of LSU shortest starters have made their height one of their biggest tools when they are on the field.
“Soccer players come in all shapes and sizes, that’s one of the beauties of the game,” Lee said.
