BATON ROUGE ? The LSU soccer team returned to form with a dominating 3-0 victory over Southern Miss on Friday night at the LSU Soccer Complex while scoring a late first-half goal and adding two more goals in the waning minutes of the match.
The Tigers (1-1) picked up their first win of the 2009 season in front of the sixth-largest crowd in school history as 1,628 fans packed the LSU Soccer Complex on Friday night.
LSU controlled the match throughout the first half of play while applying constant pressure to the Golden Eagles’ back line. Southern Miss (1-2) repeatedly worked its way out of trouble in the early minutes, most notably when a sprawling save by the goalkeeper narrowly prevented a shot by senior Rachel Yepez from crossing the goal line in the sixth minute.
Six more shots by the Tigers went unrewarded until a cross from Yepez found the foot of Melissa Clarke, who rifled a volley inside the far post from just outside the six-yard box with 5:53 to play in the first half. LSU would take its 1-0 advantage into the break.
“For a while, we were just passing and trying to get something going,” Clarke said. “We finally got it and it really helped us going forward. I think our hard work and determination was certainly more present in this game than it was last week.”
The second half was much more of the same for the Tigers, who appeared to wear down a rugged Southern Mississippi squad as the match progressed.
Senior All-American and Hermann Trophy candidate Malorie Rutledge gave the Tigers a 2-0 lead as she took a pass from Clarke inside the penalty area and rifled a shot inside the far post from 12 yards out in the left side in the 82nd minute. Senior Nikki Bush was also credited with an assist on the goal as she set a new career high for a single game with two assists in the match.
The Tigers put the match out of reach in the 85th minute when senior Amanda Carreno set up for a corner kick at the right flag and sent a perfect left-footed cross to Yepez patrolling the near post. Yepez flicked a header past the keeper to provide the final 3-0 margin.
“Ninety minutes is a long time to soak up pressure,” said LSU head coach Brian lee. “Once you get that second goal, you can really push for that third goal. A lot of times, goals come in bunches so that wasn’t a surprise.”
The Tigers received an outstanding effort from their back line that held strong the entire match. Sophomore goalkeeper Mo Isom recorded her first shutout of the year and the marking backs kept the Golden Eagle forwards from getting even a single shot on goal.
The Tigers controlled play from the opening whistle as they outshot Southern Miss by a count of 17-1, including a 6-0 advantage in shots on goal. They also attempted seven corner kicks to just a total of two corner kicks by the Golden Eagles.
LSU dedicated its win Friday night to former Tiger star Robyn DesOrmeaux, who passed away Thursday morning at the age of 27 after a courageous five-year battle with Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare bone cancer.
When DesOrmeaux was diagnosed with the disease on Nov. 11, 2004, she was given a 10 percent chance to live five years. Determined to remain optimistic, she added her jersey No. 99 to her prognosis and gave herself a 109 percent chance to live and vowed to give 109 percent effort in everything she did.
That is why the Tigers will have special black “109” patches embroidered on the right sleeve of their team jerseys for the rest of the 2009 season in honor of DesOrmeaux and her fight against Ewing’s sarcoma.
“We certainly want to dedicate tonight’s victory to Robyn DesOrmeaux and the inspiration she gives each one of us,” Lee said. “The ?109′ patches we will wear for the rest of the season are a reminder to all of us of what it means to continue to fight for everything that we have in life. Her spirit will live on in this team and the example she set during her life is something that we can all look up to.”
The Tigers will travel to Tampa, Fla., next weekend to take part in the South Florida Invitational as they take on Central Florida on Sept. 4 at 4 p.m. CT before battling host South Florida on Sept. 6 at 11 a.m. LSU will then return home to face Big 12 foe Oklahoma on Friday, Sept. 11, at 7 p.m in this season’s Cram the Complex game.