BATON ROUGE – The LSU soccer team closed out the Southeastern Conference portion of its schedule on a losing note, falling to 13th-ranked Kentucky, 6-1, at the LSU Soccer Complex Sunday afternoon.
The loss extended the Tigers’ (4-13-1 overall, 2-7 in SEC play) winless streak to 11 matches, while Kentucky (14-2-1, 8-1) ran its winning streak to 13 matches.
“They’re a fantastic team and they showed us why they’re ranked in the top 15 in the nation today,” said LSU head coach Greg Boggs. “We made too many early mistakes. Before we knew it we were down 4-0.”
As has been the case in recent weeks, the Tigers suffered a defensive breakdown and fell behind early in the match.
Elizabeth Ramsey collected a rebound in front of the net and slid the ball past LSU goalkeeper Bonnie Otillio just over five minutes into the match and Kentucky never looked back.
In the 21st minute Ramsey sent Anne Gage on a breakaway against Otillio. Gage dribbled in and around Otillio and deposited the ball into an empty net for a 2-0 lead.
Just over five minutes later Keri Boyce weaved her way through the Tiger defense to set up an easy eight-yard finish to make it 3-0.
Christal Mattingly netted the first of two goals on the day in the 33rd minute, collecting a loose ball in front of the Tigers’ goal and drilling it home from short range.
The Tigers tried to climb back into the match and in the 37th minute got on the board, cutting the lead to 4-1 at the half. Katie Thomas sent a perfect ball into the penalty box on a direct kick, hitting Laura Prichard in stride, who headed the ball home for her third goal of the season.
Mattingly added her second goal of the game in the 50th minute, while Jamie Dellbringge closed out the scoring with a beautiful header in the 65th minute.
After starting 2-0 in conference play, the Tigers lost their final seven league matches and failed to qualify for the eight-team SEC Tournament, finishing fourth in the SEC West.
LSU will wrap up its season next week with a pair of non-conference home matches. South Alabama comes to the LSU Soccer Complex Thursday night at 7 p.m., while SMU makes its first-ever trip to Baton Rouge on Sunday.