EUGENE, Ore. — The LSU soccer team fell to Oregon State in overtime, 2-1, in its season opener Friday in the first game of the Oregon Classic at Pape’ Field on the campus of the University of Oregon.
“We came out with a great bit of emotion and had a really great start to the game,” said LSU head coach Brian Lee. “You’ve got to give credit to Oregon State. They are a quality team and definitely capable of making the NCAA Tournament. It was a good statement for us in the opener to play a good competitive game.”
The Tigers took an early 1-0 advantage in the second minute of the first half as junior forward Joleen Phillips scored her first goal of the season and fifth of her career at the 1:08 mark. True freshman defender Veronica Godbolt was credited with the assist.
LSU carried the lead into halftime despite being outshot by the Beavers, 9-2.
Oregon State tied the match in the 21st minute of the second half when defender Jen Crump scored on a cross from forward Stacey Mescher. Mescher went on to score the game-winning goal in the second minute of overtime with an assist from defender Monica Storm.
The Beavers outshot LSU in the match, 14-6, with four shots on goal, and held the Tigers without a corner kick.
The match was delayed 41 minutes due to a late arrival of the officials, and Lee said he was pleased with his team’s ability to overcome such adversity this early in the season.
“We dealt with the adversity very well,” Lee said. “You need to give a lot of credit to our girls. It was a difficult situation. They had to go out and stretch, come off the field, then get ready again. They did a fantastic job of that and really played well the first 15 minutes of the game.
“We just want them to grow from this game and get better” Lee said. “We certainly would like to keep the ball more. We want to get better in tomorrow’s practice and improve for our next game Sunday.”
The Tigers return to action against tournament host Oregon on Sunday at 2 p.m. CDT. LSU’s home opener will be Sept. 2 at 7 p.m. against South Alabama followed by a home match against in-state opponent Louisiana-Lafayette Sept. 4 at noon.