Blue skies and light wind welcomed the Wildcats from the Bluegrass State to the bayou for a Sunday afternoon soccer game that ended in a 1-1 tie.
The second-to-last regular season game for LSU was one that was fought like trench warfare. The Tigers and Wildcats played an aggressively defensive match, with no goals coming until the final five minutes.
The aggressive nature of the game forced many fouls and three yellow cards.
Kentucky head coach Troy Fabiano said his goal was to make LSU uncomfortable at home. His defense did that by stopping the momentum and spunk that keeps LSU’s offense lively.
The first shot of the game came in the ninth minute off the foot of LSU’s Ida Hermannsdottir, going over the goal.
Neither team was able to host a prolonged possession throughout much of the first half. LSU’s defense, led by Jazmin Ferguson and Jocelyn Ollivierre, playing the entire 90 minutes, continued to stuff shot attempts like LSU fans have been used to seeing all year.
Kentucky’s defense, which was held strongly by freshman goalkeeper Megan Holland, was able to interrupt LSU’s one-on-one plays like no other team has been able to so far.
As fouls began to pile up, LSU saw more chances at scoring. Ferguson had a shot attempt in front of the net but was stumped and sent it off target.
Junior Ava Galligan’s coordination and intuition were leading LSU’s offense Sunday. Chemistry on passing plays between Sariyah Bailey, Hermannsdottir and Morgan Witz gave LSU some of its only opportunities at shots early in the game.
The fluid passing game LSU is accustomed to became a more difficult asset to come by as Kentucky learned how to defend against it. Increased pressure from the Wildcats suffocated LSU attackers and made it near-impossible to find easy passes.
Ferguson continued her excellent defensive season, once again ending drives before Kentucky could get a shot to goalie Sophine Kevorkian. Kevorkian made three saves on the day.
Galligan had the best attempt at getting on the board early, with a 28th-minute shot that Holland had to dive to save. This was the first shot on goal for either team in the first 30 minutes.
Kentucky put its first shot on goal in the 34th minute. Sydni Fink shot to the bottom left of the goal, but it was saved by Kevorkian.
The Wildcats were applying pressure in the final 10 minutes of the half, and LSU’s aggressive play was slowly turning into sloppy fouls that kept losing them possession. Much pushing, shoving and tripping occurred, and Amy Smith ran into a Kentucky player, knocking her to the ground and drawing a yellow card.
The first half closed as LSU’s most evenly matched game of the year. The stalemate would continue deep into the second half.
Both teams came out of the break with high energy, trying to break the scoring barrier.
Physical energy led to Ava Amsden drawing a yellow. This was the second for LSU in the game.
Grace Hoytink shot to the left following the free kick from the yellow, but it was smothered by Kevorkian. Hoytink had a similar shot just a minute later, which was also cleaned up by the Tiger goalkeeper.
In the 63rd minute, Galligan, the leading goal scorer for the Tigers, had a chance for an assist. She cut around a Kentucky defender and got a breakaway, but no other LSU players were close enough to help Galligan find an outlet. Some passes in the penalty area came and went without a shot on goal.
Three LSU fouls then gave Kentucky free possessions time and time again, but the Tigers stood tall on defense to not allow a shot.
With under five minutes remaining in the game, Hermannsdottir delivered a pass inside the box to Major, who fell down trying to get a header into the goal. Video review confirmed that she was tripped, which awarded LSU a penalty kick.
Coach Fabiano was talking to the refs and icing Hermannsdottir before the kick, which brought forth a yellow card. This was the third card of the game between both teams.
Hermannsdottir took the penalty kick and snuck it in the bottom left corner of the goal, just past the outstretched arm of Holland. She is now seven for eight on career penalty kick attempts.
In the blink of an eye, Kentucky took the kickoff, moved it down the field and snuck the ball to Thalia Morisi, who kicked the ball to the top right corner of the goal above Kevorkian’s hand.
The game was right back to where it had stood for almost 90 minutes. A tied stalemate.
The final four minutes saw urgency and physicality. Tanner Strickland of Kentucky shoved Amsden after some small contact led to a change in possession. Ferguson immediately had words for Strickland, but Amsden already received a penalty for her involvement in the situation.
LSU only had one more shot opportunity in the game, in which Major shot in front of the goal and was smothered by Holland.
The game ended in a 1-1 tie, leaving LSU still undefeated in the last six games. The Tigers remain tied with Kentucky in the SEC standings in seventh place, with 15 points each.
“We got unlucky with the last three minutes, but at the end, my team fought as hard as we possibly could,” Bailey said after the game.
LSU will face Florida for its final regular season game on Oct. 26 at the LSU Soccer Stadium. It will also be playing in the SEC tournament, which begins Nov. 2.
