FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The LSU soccer team began an important three-game road swing on a sour note Sunday, falling to the LadyBacks of Arkansas, 3-0, in Fayetteville Sunday.
The win gives both teams a 2-3 mark in the SEC West, but puts Arkansas in position to control its own destiny for the second and final automatic qualifying spot in the SEC Tournament next month. Last year, it was an LSU win over Arkansas in Baton Rouge which propelled the Tigers into only its second SEC Tournament appearance.
LSU’s job doesn’t get any easier in trying to qualify for the tournament, traveling to Alabama and Auburn this coming weekend.
?Arkansas certainly played better than we did and wanted it more than we did,? said LSU head coach Greg Boggs. ?It was a solid performance that puts Arkansas in the position to control its own destiny the rest of the way.?
Arkansas, outshooting LSU 25-2 for the game, got on the board at the 40:35 mark of the contest when Chelsie Ricci deflected a corner kick from Holly Collins past LSU keeper Sarah Krupa. That was one of 12 corner kicks the Lady Backs had in the contest as they went to the half up, 1-0.
Debbie McGoldrick got Arkansas’ second goal in the 54th minute, when she completed a give and go from Mindy Hollingshead. The final Lady Back score came at the 88:38 mark when Ricci drove home a penalty kick after Sarah Gilbert was given a yellow card for a violation in the penalty area.
Ashley Mitnick and Wendy Gutierez were the only two Tigers to get off shots on Arkansas keeper Megan Bals. LSU was playing without starting midfielder/forward Kara Dean as she served a one-game suspension after receiving two yellow cards in the Oct. 3 tie with Oklahoma.
?We need to regroup and get ready to go to Alabama next weekend,? Boggs said of his Tigers, who are now 4-9-1. Arkansas overall is 5-8-0.