BATON ROUGE — Freshman striker Carlie Banks notched a first-half goal and junior midfielder Courtney Alexander headed home the game-winner with only 5 minutes, 47 seconds remaining to lead the LSU soccer team to a thrilling 2-1 win over 15th-ranked Texas in Friday’s exhibition.
Coming off a spring season in which the Tigers rolled to a convincing 3-0 shutout against the Big 12 Conference champion Oklahoma State Cowgirls, the squad defeated another Big 12 power on Friday night as it continues to prepare for next week’s regular season opener against Memphis.
The Longhorns enter the 2009 season ranked No. 15 nationally in the preseason Top 25 poll from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.
“That was a big, big step to give up the lead and have Texas draw even 1-1 and have the mental strength to come through in the end,” said LSU head coach Brian Lee. “It was a good team effort and to recover like that and then seal the game at the end, we’re very pleased.”
LSU controlled the pace of play in the early minutes of the match, but frequent possessions inside the Texas penalty area were cleared away by a Longhorn back line that seemed determined to bend but not break. However, the persistence of the Tigers’ offensive attack paid off with an early goal by Banks in the eighth minute of play.
While working down the left side of the field, Alexander sent a ball across the field that Rachel Yepez directed to All-American midfielder Malorie Rutledge on the right sideline. Rutledge fired a shot to the near post that was deflected by the Texas goalkeeper towards Banks, who ran onto the ball and buried it under the crossbar just 7:50 into the match.
The first half would close out with LSU leading 1-0 after the Tigers were denied a prime scoring opportunity when a rocket shot by sophomore midfielder Taryne Boudreau was deflected off the crossbar by Texas goalkeeper Alex Gaul late in the period.
The second half was a different story as the Longhorns ratcheted up their offensive attack behind freshman phenom Leah Fortune. The Texas midfielder continually created opportunities and equalized the game with a volley over the head of LSU goalkeeper Mo Isom from eight yards out with 19:50 left on the clock.
But the goal shook the Tigers’ resolve as they managed to work the ball deep into the Texas half on several occasions late in the contest.
The game-winner came when defender Nikki Bush took the ball down the right flank and lofted a cross to the far post from 25 yards out. Her pass found an open Alexander, whose diving header from the top of the six-yard box punched the ball past Gaul for the deciding score.
The win marked LSU first ever victory over the Longhorns in all competitions as they are now 1-1-2 in the last four matches against Texas. After falling to the Longhorns by a 4-2 margin during the 2006 regular season, the Tigers earned a 2-2 draw over No. 4 Texas in Austin during the 2007 regular season before earning a 1-1 draw during the spring season in 2008.
The Tigers will return home for their season opener on Aug. 21 as they welcome Memphis to the LSU Soccer Complex for a 7 p.m. kickoff. They will follow with a home match against Southern Miss on Aug. 28 that is also slated for a 7 p.m. start.