ATHENS, Ga. — The LSU soccer team allowed four first-half goals for the first time since 1999 on Friday, as the Tigers were dropped by the Georgia Lady Bulldogs, 5-0, at the Georgia Soccer Stadium in Athens, Ga.
“We didn’t play to our potential today,” said LSU head coach George Fotopoulos. “Right now, Georgia is a better team than we are and their program is an established program while we are still building. It definitely wasn’t a 5-0 game and I thought that we played a lot better in the second half.”
With the loss, the Tigers fell to an overall record of 7-5-3 on the season and dropped to a 1-4-2 mark in Southeastern Conference play. The defeat was LSU’s second straight conference loss and its fourth straight versus the Lady Bulldogs. Georgia upped its all-time lead in the series to 4-0 on Friday.
Georgia earned an early 1-0 lead in the contest at the 5:01 mark in the game as freshman Tricia McKey took a Beth Culver pass and angled a shot into the lower-left corner of the goal. The score was McKee’s third of the season and the Lady Bulldogs’ third fastest of the 2001 campaign. Georgia recorded goals at the 1:34 mark against Duke and 2:41 into the game versus Alabama. Shortly after the Lady Bulldogs’ opening goal of the evening, Georgia’s Amy Berbary lofted a shot on goal from 30 yards out that found a way into the net. The shot deflected off of Bonnie Otillio’s outstretched arms and gave the Lady Bulldogs a 2-0 lead with 25:34 remaining in the first half.
“Georgia kept all of their starters in for the entire game and we played well against them in the second period,” Fotopoulos said. “We can use that performance as a building block later on and we had chances to score as well. The game could have been a lot closer than it was.”
At the 18:59 mark in the game, the scoring barrage continued for Georgia as junior Carolyn Cayard converted on a penalty kick. The kick was awarded after the Tigers’ Artie Brown was charged with a foul in the box. The penalty kick was the second allowed by LSU this season and the first of two on the evening. The Tigers’ Otillio denied Cayard from scoring on another penalty kick later in the first half.
The Tigers gave up four goals in the opening half of play for the first time since 1999 on Friday, as Georgia’s Andrea Velasco notched her second goal of the season with 16:58 remaining in the first half. LSU hasn’t allowed four goals in a game since Florida accumulated five first-half goals two years ago in an 11-0 blowout.
Georgia added a second-half goal in the contest at 52:26 as Velasco earned her second score of the game at 52:26. Velasco, a red-shirt sophomore from West Windsor, N.J., became the third Lady Bulldog to record two goals in a game this season with the performance.
“I’m disappointed in our performance, because we’re pretty much eliminated from the SEC Tournament, but this is not our year,” said Fotopoulos. “We have an extremely young team this season and we’re only going to get better.”
The LSU soccer team will next be in action on Sunday, as the Tigers remain on the road and battle the Tennessee Lady Vols at 1 p.m. in Knoxville, Tenn.
Georgia def. LSU, 5-0.
LSU 0 0 – 0
Georgia 4 1 – 5
Scoring: Georgia, McKee 5:01 (assist Culver), Berbery 15:34 (assist Murray), Cayard 26:01 (penalty kick), Velasco 28:17 (assists Zacharski, Metherell), Velasco 52:36 (assists Cayard, Rochow).
Yellow Cards: LSU, Drake (32:10), Zimmerman (52:27), Mitnick (52:47); Georgia, Zacharski (57:19), Forte’ (83:41).