BATON ROUGE – With a pair of goals scored by juniors Natalie Martineau and Kellie Murphy and a stout defensive effort throughout the match, the LSU soccer team earned its fourth-straight victory against the Auburn Tigers with a thrilling 2-1 win Sunday afternoon at the LSU Soccer Complex.
In addition to winning its fourth-straight match against Auburn (8-4, 2-2 SEC), LSU (4-5-3, 1-1-2) picked up its first win in SEC play this season while extending its home unbeaten streak to 14-straight games.
“I’m proud of our kids for the way they competed throughout the game today. I thought we played a great game today and have played well to beat Auburn four times in a row,” said LSU head coach Brian Lee. “I think Katy Frierson is a special player and deserves a lot of attention. (Allysha) Chapman came up big for us today being in her vicinity. We’re looking forward to 2012 when she is out of eligibility.”
LSU came out firing in the first half and controlled the run of play for much of the first 45 minutes. Addie Eggleston nearly gave the Tigers a lead in the 15th minute of play as she sprung free down the right side in the penalty area and fired a wide-open shot from 12 yards that sailed just wide of the left post.
Junior All-America candidate Allysha Chapman followed with a breakaway of her own in the 23rd minute with a brilliant strike following a precise through ball by freshman Emily Cancienne past the Auburn back line. Chapman broke free with a right-footed strike from 10 yards that was punched over the crossbar by a leaping Auburn goalkeeper Amy Howard and out of play for a corner kick.
Murphy broke the ice on the ensuing corner kick as she opened her account with a leaping header into the back of the net at the 23:18 mark on a cross into the six-yard box by junior Taryne Boudreau.
“I’ve been waiting for it (her first goal of the year),” Murphy said. “I’m always excited when we get some corners, and it was just a great ball by Taryne into the box. She made it easy for me to go up and get it. I like to head the ball, so I always hope that I get an opportunity like that. We made it count.”
LSU continued its momentum into the second half as it struck with its second goal of the afternoon with a team-leading fourth goal of the season by Martineau in the 49th minute. Following a centering pass toward the top of the box by freshman Amy Porter, Eggleston played a back heel flick to Martineau breaking free behind the Auburn back line. Martineau finished with a shot from eight yards inside the left post.
Martineau’s goal at the 48:12 mark of the second half proved to be the game-winner for the Tigers as they extended their unbeaten streak in SEC play to three-straight games.
Auburn pulled one back with a penalty kick goal by Frierson in the 60th minute to pull to within 2-1, when it was determined an LSU defender committed a handball while standing inside the penalty area on an end-line cross by Frierson along the right side just moments earlier.
Auburn pushed numbers forward as the clock ticked below 10 minutes to play in regulation, and LSU had to survive a late flurry in defense as the match neared full time.
LSU’s standout freshman goalkeeper Megan Kinneman answered with a pair of highlight reel saves down the stretch to preserve the victory. With Auburn lining up to take a corner kick in the 82nd minute, Kinneman made a split-second reaction to leap to her right and punch a header by Julie King over the end line and out of play. She then followed with an outstanding effort just nine seconds from time to come off her line and punch a lofted shot by Frierson out of the area and out of danger.
“After they got the PK, it just got a lot more hectic around me because the game was a lot closer. We held strong there at the end to get the win,” Kinneman said. “I knew they would be fighting harder to get the second goal once they got the first goal, and I knew I had to just stay focused and take command.”
While LSU set the pace in the run of play for much of the day, Auburn held the final advantage on the stat sheet with a 12-9 count in total shots and a 9-3 edge in corner kicks. LSU proved to be more efficient with its opportunities as six of the team’s nine shots were on frame to just three shots on goal for Auburn.
The Tigers will continue their four-game SEC homestand next weekend as they play host to the Kentucky Wildcats on Friday at 7 p.m. CDT and the Vanderbilt Commodores on Oct. 10 at 1 p.m.