BATON ROUGE – Junior midfielder Natalie Martineau scored the game-winning goal four minutes into the second overtime period to lift the LSU soccer team to a thrilling 1-0 victory over the Kentucky Wildcats on a picturesque Friday night at the LSU Soccer Complex.
Martineau headed home her team-leading fifth goal of the season inside the right post on a precise cross into the six-yard box from sophomore striker Carlie Banks in the 104th minute of play.
“I had a lot of attempts, just like all of the other games, and I kept missing,” Martineau said. “It is like Brian (Lee) always tells us, you can’t settle on chances. I was really nervous, but when I saw Carlie (Banks) coming, I just jumped as high as I could to get my head on it and it went in.”
With the win, the Tigers (5-5-3, 2-1-2 SEC) extended their home unbeaten streak at the LSU Soccer Complex to an impressive 15-straight games and remained unbeaten in four-straight in the SEC. The Wildcats (7-5-1, 1-3-1) dropped their third-straight match to LSU in Baton Rouge.
The Tigers have relied on Martineau’s heroics through the first five games in SEC play as she has scored either the game-winning or game-tying goal in three of the last four matches. She scored a game-tying goal with just three minutes to play in regulation in a 1-1 tie at Tennessee on Sept. 26, while she netted the game-winner in a 2-1 victory over Auburn on Sunday.
“We’re getting more chances,” Lee said. “Earlier in the season, we weren’t creating chances and I was beginning to think we were snake bit in this one. Natalie has been coming through for us all year long, and we finally got one of her shots to go in. This is a big win for us in the SEC.”
Perhaps LSU’s best opportunity to get on the board in regulation came on a Taryne Boudreau free kick that was nearly headed into the net by Kentucky defender Laura Novikoff for an own goal in the first half of play. The ball sailed a mere inches over the crossbar for a corner kick.
The LSU back line was brilliant throughout the match and made life much easier for Tiger keeper Megan Kinneman, who recorded her third shutout in six starts on the season.
“The play of my back line was great,” Kinneman said. “When I don’t face any shots on goal, that is big for my defense in front of me. I still had to stay focused and make sure I didn’t let anything get close. It’s big for us to come away with the win in this one.”
The Tigers controlled the run of the play throughout the match and finished with a decisive advantage on the final stat sheet as they outshot the Wildcats by a 15-8 margin in total shots while attempting nine shots on goal in the match and limiting their opponent without a shot on frame in nearly 104 minutes of action. The Tigers also held a 10-1 advantage in corner kicks on the night.
Banks and freshman striker Addie Eggleston set the pace for the Tigers offensively by combining for a total of 10 shots and six shots on goal between them.
The Tigers will return to the pitch on Sunday afternoon as they welcome Vanderbilt to the Soccer Complex for a match that is scheduled to kick off at 1:07 p.m. CT. The match is also set for a live television broadcast to a regional audience on Cox Sports Television.