BATON ROUGE — The LSU soccer team earned its second-straight Southeastern Conference victory on Friday by shutting out the Georgia Bulldogs, 1-0, at the LSU Soccer Complex thanks to an “own goal” at the 84:49 mark of the second half.
Sophomore midfielder Caroline Vanderpool played the ball to junior forward Joleen Phillips deep in Georgia’s end of the field, but it was intercepted by a Georgia defender. Phillips pressured the defender into kicking the ball in the direction goalkeeper Lauren Church, who briefly left the net to challenge the initial pass from Vanderpool. The ball sailed just to the left of Church and into the net for an “own goal.”
“That was a little wind-aided,” said LSU head coach Brian Lee. “We played the ball in behind and made their back line turn and run. Their defender didn’t hit it quite right, and the wind got to it and it went into the back of the net.”
The Tigers (6-4-2, 2-2-1 SEC) improve to 2-5 all-time against the Bulldogs (8-4-1, 2-3 SEC) and have won back-to-back conference matches for the first time since defeating Mississippi State and Georgia in 2003. This also marks the first time LSU has posted back-to-back shutouts in conference play since blanking Ole Miss and Mississippi State in 1995.
“We talk all the time about deserving to win, and that includes working hard, playing well, letting the ball move and just being a good team,” Lee said. “We did it tonight for 90 minutes. I’m very proud of our players for playing so hard tonight and really earning a win against a good team.”
Lee said he was particularly pleased with the play of his team’s defense, which kept one of the SEC’s most potent offenses out of the net and held forward Ali Williams without a shot in the match. Williams is the SEC’s second-leading scorer with nine goals and 18 points on the season.
Freshman goalkeeper Jackie Moseley saved six shots to earn her fifth shutout of the season and improve her record to 6-3-2. Moseley has saved 39 shots and recorded a 0.70 goals against average in 2005.
“Our defense has really played great through the whole year,” Lee said. “They’ve really gotten better and better with each game. The players seem to be more organized defensively and know their roles, and each of them is really doing their job. Jackie continues to play very well, and we are pleased with her progress.”
LSU attempted just six shots, including two shots on goal, and three corner kicks in a match that proved to be a defensive struggle throughout. Georgia attempted 15 shots with six shots on goal and four corner kicks. One yellow card was awarded to LSU, while Georgia committed 17 fouls to 13 for the Tigers.
LSU returns to action on Sunday with a home match against the 14th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers at 1 p.m. at the LSU Soccer Complex.