Soccer Picks Up Win To Stay Alive

First off, apologies for no soccer article last week. Midterms suck y’all.

After having the weekend off after their loss to Florida, LSU fell behind Tennessee in the first ten minutes (7’) when Hannah Wilkinson cleaned up a rebound from Carlyn Baldwin from inside the six yard box. Baldwin would get her goal just before halftime (42’) and Tennessee would take a three goal lead just on the other side of half (50’) when Michele Christy headed in a cross just like Baldwin did. LSU picked up a goal in the 53rd minute when Summer Clarke played a threaded through ball to Nicole Howard, who chipped it over the keeper.

Things got worse on Sunday when Georgia blanked LSU 3-0. Georgia’s three goals came in the 7th minute (again) when Marion Crowder converted Kelsey Killean’s cross, in the 19th minute Becca Rasmussen netted a goal off of Taylor Donohue’s corner, and the final in the 57th minute when Killean finished the treble.

The loss to Georgia was LSU’s fifth loss in a row, putting them in the worst form possible. In those five games the Tigers were thoroughly outplayed, scoring two goals against 15 allowed, three in each game. This firmly placed LSU outside of 10th in the SEC Standings, which is needed to make the SEC Tournament. In order to keep hope alive for the rest of the season, LSU needed to pick up three points against on the road against Mississippi State Friday night.

Mississippi State had LSU dead to rights in the first half, firing off eight shots to LSU’s one. But Caroline Brockmeier held firm, saving three shots. Maybe it’s poetic that she made three saves to keep LSU in the game after allowing that many goals in five straight games and maybe it isn’t, but it’s exactly what LSU needed to stay alive both in the game and in the season. LSU was able to rally at halftime and came out with significantly more pressure on the Bulldogs and were able to claim a handball in the box at the 59 minute mark. Jorian Baucom took the penalty and coolly converted it to break the deadlock. Defensively, LSU continued their work from the first half and provided the Tigers with their first shutout since September 18th when LSU blanked Lamar 4-0.

LSU is now 2-6-0 in SEC play on the year, good for six points. Those six points put them in 11th place, one point behind Tennessee, who is clinging onto the final SEC Tournament slot. LSU has three games, all home, remaining to pick up a maximum of nine points, and this week they play Auburn Thursday night at 6:00 and then Alabama Sunday at 1:00. Both games are on the SECN+.

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