The LSU soccer team returned back to its home pitch after a three-straight away games and decided to come back in fashion by commemorating their 25th season of Division 1 soccer and rep their throwback uniforms against the Sun Devils of Arizona State
Even with the festivities, the Tigers put up a strong defensive effort before falling to Arizona State 1-0.
LSU (2-3-1) entered the match on a two-game losing streak after playing back-to-back ranked opponents in the Duke Nike Classic, including the No. 1 North Carolina Tarheels.
The Sun Devils entered today’s match with a record of 5-2. Arizona State started out the year on fire winning their first five matches of the season, but have dropped the last two.
The match was very defensive heavy for both teams. During the match, LSU was unable to register one shot on goal the entire first half of play. Arizona State also was unable to register any shots on goal in the first half, but was able to get off five shots and create five opportunities off set pieces, while LSU struggled to have any.
“It was hard being on our heels all game, but we tried our best to keep our lines tight and Arizona State definitely did a good job,” said LSU junior defender Chiara Ritchie-Williams. “The young players came in and stepped in great and really helped contributed to our team.”
Coming into the season, the talk was all about the youthfulness of the Tigers backline and how they would fare, but the offense is what has been struggling for the Tigers thus far, as they have only scored four goals in a total of seven matches this season and really struggled to maintain possession of the ball at any time during this game.
“We had shots,” said LSU coach Debbie Hensley. “It was just about if it was accounted for shots on goal, but when you create corner kicks, you’re not getting a shot on goal for that, but it does create opportunity. We are going to try and continue to get more players committed forward.”
The Tigers best opportunity came in the first half of play in the 24th minute of play after an Arizona State defender took down freshman forward Makenzie Maher just outside of the 18-yard box. That allowed senior midfielder Marlena Cutura an opportunity for a free kick and Cutura struck the ball with authority low to sneak behind the wall of the Arizona State defenders, but the ball sailed right of far goal post.
The Tigers looked to have a couple more opportunities in the second half of play, but both opportunities were negated by offsides penalties. LSU did get an opportunity in the last minute of the game where Meghan Johnson stuck a ball hard from just outside the 6-yard box, but the ball sailed just left of the goal post.
Arizona State’s offense came out with authority in the second half of play. The Sun Devils started taking more chances and being more creative with the ball, which quickly lead to an Arizona State goal in the 52nd minute of play by forward Nichole Douglas. That gave Arizona the 1-0 advantage and they never looked back. Douglas also leads the team with seven goals and two assists. Arizona State ended the match with 16 shots, 11 of which came in the second half.
The Tigers move to 2-4-1 on the season and are on a three-game losing streak. LSU will return to action this Thursday on their home pitch to open up conference play against the Florida Gators at 7 p.m.