NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Sophomore standouts Michelle Makasini and Rachel Yepez scored goals in the 17th and 57th minutes of the match to lead the 24th-ranked LSU soccer team to a 2-0 shutout of Vanderbilt on Friday night at the Vanderbilt Soccer Complex.
The Tigers (10-2-4, 4-1-2 SEC) earned their first victory over the Commodores (4-8-2, 1-4-1 SEC) since a 1-0 shutout on Oct. 22, 2000, and improve to 2-7-2 in the all-time series.
The Tigers are now just two points out of first place in the SEC standings and are in sole possession of fourth at 14 points through seven league matches. Georgia and Tennessee lead the way following Friday’s action with 16 points and Auburn follows in third place at 15 points.
“We feel good about the result, but more importantly we played really well for 90 minutes,” said LSU head coach Brian Lee. “Vanderbilt is a good team that just hasn’t had the results fall their way. It’s always big to win on the road in the SEC, and we’re going to enjoy this one tonight. We just need to refocus tomorrow and get ready for Kentucky on Sunday.”
Makasini got the ball rolling for the Tigers with the game-winner and her eighth goal of the season at the 16:02 mark of the first half after collecting a pass from junior Roslyn Jones and rifling a shot inside the upper 90 of the right post from 30 yards out.
The native of Euless, Texas, is now the team’s second leading scorer with eight goals and 18 points on the season, including five goals and 10 points in conference play.
Yepez extended LSU’s advantage to 2-0 at the 56:32 mark of the second half with her team-leading 11th goal of the season, firing a shot inside the near post from 10 yards out in the left side of the penalty area. Jones and sophomore Malorie Rutledge were credited with assists on the goal.
“Getting a second goal is huge for the momentum of the game,” Lee said. “It was important for us to get a little breathing room. Vanderbilt kept the pressure on us late in the game, but I was very pleased with our effort in defense. Our back line stayed focused and kept their composure for the rest of the match and we were able to drain the clock.”
Senior goalkeeper Valerie Vogler was steady between the posts once again as she made five big saves on the night to record her seventh clean sheet on the season. The native of St. Louis, Mo., is closing in on the school’s all-time record for shutouts as she owns 13 shutouts in her career.
“Val made two really class saves tonight to keep the shutout and did a great job of keeping our back line organized down the stretch,” Lee said. “That’s something that she’s done all year long. She’s really had a great senior season this year.”
The Tigers held the advantage on the offensive end of the field as they attempted 24 shots with seven shots on goal and six corner kicks. The Commodores countered with 17 shots of their own, including five shots on goal, and just two corner kicks for the match.
The Tigers return to the pitch on Sunday afternoon as they make the trip to Lexington, Ky., to take on the Kentucky Wildcats in match slated for a noon CDT at the UK Soccer Complex. The Wildcats are coming off their first SEC win this season with a 2-1 defeat of the Arkansas Lady Razorbacks on Friday night.
2007 SEC Tournament Seedings
SEC Pts GD GS Next 1. Georgia 5-0-1 16.0 +5 10 MS, UM 1. Tennessee 5-1-1 16.0 +5 12 MS, @UA 2. Georgia 5-1-1 16.0 +4 10 UM, @AU 3. Auburn 5-2-0 15.0 +6 12 @SC, UG 4. LSU 4-1-2 14.0 +5 10 @UK, SC 5. Florida 4-2-0 12.0 +6 10 UA, @AR 6. S. Carolina 3-3-1 10.0 +3 10 AU, @LS 7. Ole Miss 3-3-1 10.0 0 9 @UG, VU 8. Miss. St. 2-4-1 7.0 -6 4 @UT, UK --------------------------------------------------- 9. Alabama 2-4-1 7.0 -5 7 @UF, UT 10. Vanderbilt 1-4-1 4.0 -5 6 AR, @UM 11. Arkansas 1-5-1 4.0 -5 5 @VU, UF 12. Kentucky 1-6-0 3.0 -8 3 LS, @MS
Tie-breakers:
1) Head-to-Head competition
2) Goal Differential in SEC games (GD)
3) Goals scored in SEC games (GS)
4) Coin flip or Draw