BATON ROUGE – On the strength of Taryne Boudreau‘s free kick goal early in the second half of Saturday’s contest, the LSU soccer team blanked the Big 12 Conference power Texas Longhorns by a 1-0 margin as part of the Albion College Cup held at the Awty International School in Houston.
With their deserved victory in the event hosted by the Albion Hurricanes Football Club, the Tigers evened their 2011 spring record at 2-1-1 and improved to 2-1-1 in their last four contests against the Longhorns.
The Tigers and Longhorns have now met in an exhibition match in each of the last four seasons with LSU gaining the upper hand with a pair of thrilling victories following a 2-1 decision on Aug. 14, 2009, and a 1-0 shutout on Saturday evening. The Tigers dropped their only decision during that span by a 2-1 margin on Aug. 14, 2010, while the sides also played to a 1-1 draw on April 13, 2008.
LSU took down one of the true powers of the Big 12 Conference as Texas owns nine NCAA Tournament appearances all-time with three trips to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2004, 2006 and 2007.
The Longhorns wrapped up the 2010 fall campaign with an 11-6-4 overall record and 4-3-3 mark in Big 12 play en route to earning an at-large berth into the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
“I am proud of the way our athletes competed here this evening in what has been a great event,” said LSU head coach Brian Lee. “Our girls certainly deserved a victory against what is one of the premier programs in our sport. We just continue to grow and mature as a team each time we have the chance to compete.
“We also want to thank Tony Johnson and the Albion Hurricanes for putting on a first-class event here in the great state of Texas. We’re fortunate to have the opportunity to compete in showcase events each year as we prepare for the fall season, and this is by far one of the best that we’ve been a part of. We’d love the opportunity to compete in a great event like this again in the future.”
Boudreau, a rising senior from Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada, netted the only goal of the contest with a 20-yard free kick strike inside the far post from beyond the right side of the penalty area.
The Tigers proved dangerous on the offensive end throughout the match as they turned up the pressure on the Longhorn defense with shots ringing off the woodwork in either half. Rising junior Reyna Lubin nearly broke the scoreless draw with a header off the crossbar in the first half, while rising senior All-SEC midfielder Allysha Chapman nearly gave LSU a 2-0 advantage late in the second half with a strike off the upright when she pounced on a loose ball near the top of the box following a corner kick.
The Tigers continue their spring season on Sunday, April 3, when they travel to Metairie, La., to compete against in-state rival Nicholls State as part of the Big Easy Invitational at Lafreniere Park at noon CDT.