NEW ORLEANS — The LSU soccer team battled archrival Tulane to a 1-1 double overtime tie on Friday at the Westfedlt Facility in New Orleans in the first meeting between the schools since the 2000 season.
The sixth meeting all-time between the in-state rivals would wind up being one of the roughest matches in recent history as LSU remained undefeated for the season at 5-0-1, and played their first double-overtime match since Nov. 3 of last season against Arkansas.
Tulane took a 1-0 just 1:31 into the match as forward Lindsay Morris managed to slip the ball past LSU goalkeeper Robyn DesOrmeaux and into the left corner of the net. Tulane became the first team to score on LSU since the season opener when Coastal Carolina recorded one goal. The Tigers have outscored the opposition 27-2 this season.
The Tigers, who had failed to capitalize on numerous scoring chances throughout the game, finally tied it up when senior forward Rachel Cohen scored her first goal of the season in the 73rd minute. The Lafayette, La., native found the left corner of the net from 40 yards out.
The game featured five yellow cards, two reds, and one ejection, as LSU sophomore Tara Mitnick was dismissed from the contest with 11:11 remaining after picking up her second yellow card. Tiger assistant coach Ricky Zambrano was also tossed from the game prior to the start of the first overtime after a lengthy argument with the officiating crew at midfield.
Cohen also received a yellow in the second half. Freshman midfielder Michelle De Cespedes left the game with an ankle injury at the 19:46 mark of the first half and did not return.
Junior Artie Brown missed a golden opportunity just a minute and a half into the overtime period as she missed from just a few yards out after Green Wave goalkeeper Megan Morey fell down, but a Tulane defender knocked the ball away and kept the game alive.
DesOrmeaux saved a potential game-winning goal early in the second overtime period and Tulane’s Morey saved a shot by freshman Stacy Bishop with four and a half minutes left in the second overtime in what proved to be the two teams’ best scoring chances of the period until the final minute.
The Wave’s Lauren Whalen missed wide left with less than a minute left in the game and seconds later forward Melissa Wheeler missed high on a header.
LSU head coach George Fotopoulos declined to comment on the game. The Tigers remained 15-0-2 against in-state competition under Fotopoulos and kept their 13-game winning streak against non-conference teams intact.
The Tigers will next travel to Austin, Texas on Sunday to face the nationally ranked Texas Longhorns at 7:30 p.m.
LSU (5-0-1) tied Tulane (2-2-1), 1-1
LSU 0 1 0 — 1
TU 1 0 0 — 1
Scoring: Tulane, Morris (1) 1:31 (assisted by Megan Morey); LSU, Cohen (1) 72:18 (unassisted). Yellow cards: Tulane: K. Miller, L. Peterson; LSU: T. Mitnick (2), R. Cohen. Red cards: Bench,. Ejections: T. Mitnick