BATON ROUGE — On her Senior Night, Roslyn Jones put LSU on the board in the second minute and Melissa Clarke added a pair of second-half goals in a 38-second span to give the 14th-ranked LSU soccer team its second-straight SEC Western Division championship with a 3-1 win over the Arkansas Razorbacks on Friday night.
Not only did the Tigers clinch the SEC West crown, but they also locked up the No. 2 seed in the SEC Tournament set to begin in Orange Beach, Ala., on Wednesday.
In the regular-season finale, LSU (13-3-1, 7-3-1 SEC) improved to 22 points in the league’s table, while Arkansas (11-8, 4-7 SEC) was eliminated from SEC Tournament contention with 12 points. The Tigers will play No. 7 seed Ole Miss in the opening match at noon on Wednesday.
“We’re very excited about finishing the regular season strong with another SEC West title and the No. 2 seed in the SEC Tournament,” said LSU head coach Brian Lee. “Finishing second in this league is something we can be proud of. We feel like we’re playing well at the right time, and it’s something that we feel good about going into the postseason. This was a big win for our team.”
Perhaps feeding off the emotion from Senior Night festivities before the opening kick, Jones gave LSU a 1-0 lead just 91 seconds into the match with her seventh goal of the season.
After pressuring the Arkansas back line that struggled to maintain possession, Jones took a pair of touches after gaining control of the ball inside the area and fired a shot past Razorback goalkeeper Britni Williams inside the left post from the right side of the six-yard box.
“Scoring on Senior Night was incredible, especially getting up that early in the game,” Jones said. “I had two chances to maybe get a shot off, but I just tried to stay composed and get the best shot that I could. I freed myself up a little bit with that last touch and put it in the corner. We feel very good about where we’re at right now and are looking forward to getting back at it next week.”
After taking their 1-0 advantage into the halftime break, Clarke gave the Tigers a spark in the first 15 minutes of the second half with a pair of goals just 38 seconds apart.
Clarke pushed the LSU lead to 2-0 with her fifth goal of the season at the 58:39 mark, collecting a throw in from junior Hermann Trophy candidate Malorie Rutledge and rifling a shot inside the left post from 25 yards beyond the right side of the penalty area. The Norcross, Ga., native scored her first goal in nearly one month with her last coming in a 2-1 win over Georgia on Oct. 5.
It only took Clarke only 38 seconds to get back on the scoreboard as she put the game away at the 59:17 mark with her sixth goal of the year. After Jones played a one-touch cross toward the right side of the penalty area, Clarke buried full volley inside the left post from 16 yards away.
Rutledge was also credited with an assist on LSU’s third goal as she runs her single-season school record to 17 on the year, which also moves her into a tie for the top spot in the NCAA in assists.
“We didn’t play very well toward the end of the first half, and we had a good pep talk at halftime that seemed to pick us up. We came out with a lot more energy after halftime,” Clarke said. “The first goal, I just looked up and saw the keeper really far off her line, so I just wanted to get a good shot off. The second was off a bouncing ball that I was able to run onto and get a good foot on it.
“It feels really good to score again because it seems like it’s been so long. To score two goals in a row like that is even better. I’m just glad that I was able to help my team win a big game.”
Although Arkansas pulled one back in the 86th minute after Kailey Anders buried a header from a corner kick by Rachel Smith, the game was too far out of reach for the Razorbacks as LSU picked up its school record seventh win in Southeastern Conference play.
LSU’s freshman goalkeeper Mo Isom was steady in goal once again as she made six saves on the night to lead the defensive effort. The Tigers outshot the Razorbacks by a count of 14-10, while it was the Razorbacks who held a slight 7-5 advantage in shots on goal in the match. LSU also fired off three corner kicks on the night to just two corner kicks for Arkansas.
“I felt like we were much better in the second half tonight,” Lee said. “We sort of slowed down in the first half after we got the first goal, but we played with much better intensity in the second half. MC put two on the board back-to-back to give us a boost, and we finished it off with a win. I feel like we’re a dangerous team when the field opens up. We saw that a little bit tonight.”
Jones was not the only senior honored before the game as midfielder Casey Crawford, goalkeeper Jackie Moseley and manager Kristina Rippetoe were each recognized for their contribution to the LSU soccer program during their outstanding collegiate careers.
“We’re very proud of each member of this senior class for what they’ve accomplished these last four years,” Lee said. “They can take a lot of pride in knowing that they will leave LSU as the most successful senior class in the history of the program. There is still a lot of soccer for them to play, and we’re looking forward to the postseason.”
The SEC Tournament returns to the Orange Beach Sportsplex for the fourth straight season as the event is scheduled to run from Nov. 5-9. LSU will open play with its highest seed in team history at No. 2 and will battle the No. 7 seed Ole Miss Rebels on Wednesday at noon.
SEC Tournament Standings
1. Florida 11-0-0
2. LSU 7-3-1 *
3. Auburn 7-3-1 **
4. Georgia 7-3-1
5. South Carolina 5-4-2
6. Tennessee 5-5-1 ***
7. Ole Miss 5-5-1
8. Alabama 4-6-1
Eliminated from SEC Tournament
Arkansass 4-7-0
Vanderbilt 3-6
Kentucky 3-7-1
Mississippi St. 0-11-0
* Holds head-to-head wins over Georgia and Auburn
** Holds head-to-head win over Georgia
*** Holds head-to-head win over Ole Miss