COLUMBIA, S.C. — Thursday’s match proved to be a defensive struggle between 13th-ranked LSU and South Carolina as the sides could not break the deadlock with a goal in 110 minutes of action, finishing in a scoreless draw on a chilly evening at Stone Stadium.
Although the Tigers (12-2-1, 6-2-1 SEC) were unable to extend their SEC winning streak to six games, the club is now unbeaten in its last six matches in conference play.
South Carolina (10-4-4, 4-3-2 SEC) has been nearly unbeatable at Stone Stadium in recent years as the Gamecocks are now unbeaten in 13 matches at the venue nicknamed “The Graveyard” and have a sparkling home record of 23-1-5 since the beginning of the 2006 season.
With the Tigers limited on the offensive end throughout the match, LSU freshman goalkeeper Mo Isom proved to be difference in the game by making seven big saves on the night to keep South Carolina off the scoreboard. For Isom, it was her seventh shutout of the year and her third in SEC play as she now holds the LSU freshman record for clean sheets in a season.
Perhaps her biggest save in the match came with just three seconds remaining in the first overtime period when Gamecock defender Natalie Aaron intercepted a pass back by LSU’s back line and got a shot off for the apparent game-winner. But Isom raced off her line and deflected Aaron’s one-on-one attempt out of play as the final seconds ticked off the clock.
Isom also kept the Gamecocks off the scoreboard with a pair of highlight reel saves in the waning minutes of the first half of play.
Isom held her line and saved another shot from point-blank range by Aaron standing just beyond the six-yard box following a cross by Brittiny Rhoades in the 38th minute of play. She then stifled another South Carolina threat in the 42nd minute after freshman Kayla Grimsley broke free of the LSU back line and went into the area one-on-one with Isom.
Isom alertly raced off her line to cut off the angle on the shot and forced Grimsley to chip the ball from the top of the penalty box. The LSU keeper made a brilliant save to preserve the shutout.
Despite the scoreboard reading 0-0 at the break, South Carolina held the run of play in the period as the Gamecocks went into the locker room with a 6-2 edge in total shots and a 4-1 advantage in shots on goal. South Carolina also attempted three corner kicks to just one for LSU. South Carolina finished with a 15-4 advantage in shots, a 7-1 edge in shots on goal and an 8-2 margin in total corner kicks after 110 minutes of play.
The Tigers will return to the pitch on Sunday afternoon in a battle of Southeastern Conference heavyweights as they welcome the sixth-ranked Florida Gators to the LSU Soccer Complex for a match scheduled to kick off at 1:07 p.m. CT. The match is set for a live television broadcast on Cox Sports Television, which is cable channel 37 in the Baton Rouge area.