The LSU soccer team lit the scoreboard ablaze in an 8-0 win over Sam Houston to extend their regular season record to 2-0 on Sunday.
Head Coach Sian Hudson commended her squads performance, but also realizes going into this five-game road stretch is no easy feat.
“I thought our performance from start to finish had a lot of good energy today,” Hudson said. “The pace at which we moved the ball today was impressive. This gives us a confidence boost as we head into our road trip to Florida this coming week. We know there are still things for us to get better at, and we will continue to work on those things as we progress through the season.”
In this matchup senior forwards Tinaya Alexander and Alesia Garcia made history becoming the first two players in LSU soccer history to both record a hat trick in one game.
Alexander tallied up four goals in the outing against Sam Houston. She had a hat trick within the first 31 minutes of the match. The third goal scored by Alexander was an upper 90 shot that was ultimately unblockable for the Sam Houston goalkeeper. She capped off her outing with a late game goal to close out the win 8-0.
Garcia did not get on the scoreboard until the second half, but wasted little time to mark her presence on the pitch. She knocked in two goals within minutes of each other to start the second half and capped off the hat trick with a skillful move to weave around the goalkeeper, sending the ball into an open net. Garcia also added an assist to her stat sheet with a pass to defender Grace Haggerty that headed into the goal.
LSU played a near-perfect game, only allowing one shot on goal through 90 minutes. On the other side of the pitch, the attacking front fired a total of 35 shots at the goal, with 22 being on target. The Tigers held control of the game through smart passing and possession. LSU ended the match with 61% possession compared to Sam Houston’s 39%.
With the score getting out of hand, Hudson was able to experiment with the lineup. Throughout the match, 23 players saw playing time on the pitch.
The Tigers will now focus their attention on a five-game road stretch starting in Florida against South Florida. This game will be televised Thursday on ESPN+.
LSU soccer dominates Sam Houston, begins season 2-0
August 22, 2021