HOUSTON, Texas – In a dramatic ending that saw Rice score the game-winning goal with just over two minutes remaining in double overtime, the LSU soccer team suffered its second 1-0 defeat for the week as it dropped its first ever meeting with the Owls on Friday night at the Rice Soccer Stadium.
Friday’s match marked the first meeting between the two sides on the soccer pitch as the Tigers fell to 1-3 and the Owls improved to 3-1 on the campaign with their third-straight win.
The match did not end without a measure of controversy as forward Jessica Howard netted the winner just seconds after the center referee missed a clear foul flagged on a Rice defender by the sideline referee with LSU in the attack on the other end of the field.
Within minutes of checking into the match midway through the second overtime period, sophomore Addie Eggleston drew a foul about 25 yards out from goal while leading the Tigers in the attack down the right side. The sideline referee then raised his flag for what should have been a dangerous free kick for the Tigers, but he continued to wave his flag for about 20 seconds as play continued the other way.
As the clock then ticked under three minutes to play in the second overtime period, the Owls won a throw in deep in their attacking end that led to the Howard’s game-winning goal.
Defender Rachel Petmecky controlled the throw in for the Owls in the left side of the area as she centered a pass through traffic to Howard standing about eight yards in front of the net. Howard then unleashed her strike off the right post and into the back of the net for the 1-0 win at the 107:45 mark.
Senior goalkeeper Mo Isom was the star of the match for the Tigers as she stood strong in goal throughout the evening while making three saves to force the game into double overtime.
Isom provided the defensive play of the game in the 70th minute of the second half to keep the score at 0-0 as she made a class diving save on a 20-yard strike by Rice midfielder Quinney Truong. Following a failed clearance by the Tigers just outside the area, Truong pounced on the loose ball and rifled a 20-yard right-footed strike that appeared destined for the back of the net inside the left post. Isom dove to her right and punched the ball out of play beyond the end line for Rice’s only corner kick of the match.
The Tigers were dangerous in the attack for much of the night as they earned a total of 10 corner kicks for the match. Redshirt freshman Jodi Calloway nearly turned one of those corners into an early lead for LSU in the 20th minute play following an initial service by senior midfielder Taryne Boudreau. Calloway found herself free to clean up a loose ball from 10 yards, but her strike whistled just inches by the right post.
Junior striker Reyna Lubin had a golden opportunity to end the match in LSU’s favor with just seconds to play in regulation as she sprung free on a breakaway following a slotted through ball past the Owl defense by fellow junior striker Carlie Banks with under 30 seconds to play.
Lubin sprinted 30 yards in an attempt to finish one-on-one with Rice goalkeeper Amy Czyz, but the attack was silenced with a tremendous effort by Petmecky on a precisely timed slide tackle from the right.
After taking on the Rice Owls on Friday night, the Tigers will wrap up their five-game road swing to kick off the 2011 season with a return trip to Houston on Tuesday to battle the Houston Cougars at Robertson Stadium at 7 p.m. CDT. LSU will then return to Baton Rouge for its home opener on Friday, Sept. 9, with a 7:30 p.m. match against the undefeated Oregon Ducks at the new LSU Soccer Stadium.