Junior forward Mandy Heintz’s 23rd goal of the season against Auburn in the Southeastern Conference Tournament Thursday afternoon may have been the biggest of the season and possibly her career.
Heintz scored LSU’s first career postseason goal with 4:38 remaining in the game breaking a scoreless game as eight-seed LSU (12-4-3) won its first postseason game in school history, upsetting top-ranked Auburn (14-4-2), 1-0, in Oxford, Miss.
“Obviously it’s the biggest win in school history,” Fotopoulos said. “I can’t lie and say I’m not excited about it. I am just hoping we can regroup and win on Friday.”
LSU will face Florida today at 5 p.m. The Gators beat South Carolina.
The Tigers became the first eighth-seed team to win a tournament game since the SEC switched to a eight-team bracket.
Sophomore forward Danielle Keath recorded her second assist of the season on Heintz’ goal.
Sophomore goalie Robyn DesOrmeaux had eight saves in 90 minutes for LSU.
“We couldn’t have won the game without DesOrmeaux,” Fotopoulos said. “She was really on her game today.”
The Tigers avoided a disaster in the 13th minute of play when Auburn defender Erin Hensin’s penalty kick sailed over the goal. Fotopoulos said that missed opportunity set the tone for the rest of the game.
“I felt that if they would have made that kick we could have lost the game three-or-four to nothing,” Fotopoulos said. “It was big to miss that.”
Now the Tigers turn their attention to Florida.
Another win would improve the Tigers chances of being selected for the NCAA Tournament.