EVANSTON, Ill. — The LSU soccer team has raced out to a 3-0 start to the 2008 season and will look to extend its winning streak to four games on Monday night as it takes on Loyola-Chicago in the final game of the inaugural Lakeside Invitational at Lakeside Field.
The match between the Tigers and Ramblers is scheduled for a 6 p.m. kick off following a match between tournament host Northwestern and Illinois State at 3:30 p.m.
LSU opened up the tournament with a 2-0 shutout of Northwestern on Saturday in the first match between the two teams on the soccer pitch. Loyola-Chicago is now 1-2 on the year after suffering a heartbreaking 1-0 defeat at the hands of Illinois State on Saturday afternoon.
“I’m proud of our girls for battling for the full 90 minutes to come out with a win against a good Northwestern team last night, but we’re going to have to play with greater intensity and focus on Monday if we hope to get a good result,” said LSU head coach Brian Lee. “Loyola is a team with NCAA Tournament experience and I’m sure will be more than ready to play.”
The Tigers have outscored their opponents by an 8-1 margin to open the season as senior captain Roslyn Jones and junior All-Americans Michelle Makasini and Rachel Yepez lead the way with two goals apiece, while Jones and Yepez lead the way with six points on the young season.
Freshman goalkeeper Mo Isom has been outstanding in leading the Tigers defense as she has now recorded clean sheets in two of her first three matches at the collegiate level.
Isom has pitched shutouts against South Alabama on Aug. 22 and Northwestern on Saturday with both matches ending 2-0, while she scored her first career goal in leading LSU to a dominating 4-1 win over BYU on Monday. Isom has saved 10 of the 11 shots on goal she has faced to this point in the season with an impressive goals against average of 0.33.
The squad will attempt to make its return to Baton Rouge after Hurricane Gustav clears out of the state and will return to action next weekend as they play host to the Tiger Classic. LSU welcomes Kent State to the LSU Soccer Complex on Friday in a match scheduled for 7 p.m. before squaring off against Dartmouth on Sept. 7 at noon.