TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The 18th-ranked LSU soccer team moved back into a tie atop the SEC standings with its 2-0 shutout of the Alabama Crimson Tide on Sunday afternoon in an SEC West derby held at the Alabama Soccer Stadium to improve to 11-5-1 on the season and 6-2 in league play.
The Tigers also extended their unbeaten streak to six-straight games against Alabama (7-7-2, 2-5-1) while moving back into a tie for first place in the SEC standings with Florida and South Carolina.
Florida, which entered Sunday’s action alone in first place atop the table, suffered a stunning 1-0 defeat at Mississippi State to fall back into a tie with both LSU and South Carolina. The Gamecocks dominated the Ole Miss Rebels to the tune of a 3-0 shutout in Oxford, Miss., to finish the day with 18 points.
Georgia also has an opportunity to make it a four-way tie atop the league standings as the Bulldogs kick it off at Kentucky at 3 p.m. CDT sitting on 15 points with a 5-2 mark in SEC play.
“I thought it was another good Sunday performance by our team. I’m proud of the effort we showed while pulling out a tough win on the road,” said LSU head coach Brian Lee. “Our girls have worked hard during the last nine months or so to put themselves in the kind of position they need to be to play well on Sunday afternoon. We saw that last weekend at Kentucky, and again here this afternoon in Alabama.”
After coming off the bench in the 30th minute of the first frame, redshirt freshman Kaley Blades scored on a breakaway in the 41st minute with her second goal of the season to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.
Blades found herself on a breakaway behind the Alabama back line following a precise one-touch pass by sophomore midfielder Danielle Murphy. Blades then raced into the box from the left side and drew Alabama’s All-SEC goalkeeper Justine Bernier out to challenge before burying her strike into the back of the net from about eight yards out to give LSU the 1-0 lead at the 40:23 mark.
Senior midfielder Taryne Boudreau then put the game out of reach in the 84th minute of play after running onto a loose ball near the top of the box and firing a strike inside the right post for the 2-0 lead.
With the Tigers pressuring for their second goal of the match, Boudreau took one touch after controlling a loose ball in space and buried a right-footed strike near the top of the area past a diving Bernier. Boudreau scored her team-leading ninth goal of the campaign, and her sixth goal in SEC play.
Senior goalkeeper Mo Isom was also tremendous in organizing the LSU defense throughout the contest as the Tigers limited the Crimson Tide to just five shots in 90 minutes of action. Isom’s only save of the day proved crucial as it kept Alabama off the scoreboard in the third minute when she deflected a shot attempt on Pia Rijsdijk’s breakaway out of danger, preserving the shutout.
While pitching her sixth shutout of the season, Isom moved into sole possession of fifth place for the SEC career list as she now owns 28 clean sheets during her illustrious career.
The Tigers will return to action on Thursday night as they play host to the South Carolina Gamecocks in a 2011 home finale scheduled for a 7 p.m. CDT kickoff at the LSU Soccer Stadium. Both the Tigers and the Gamecocks will be battling for SEC supremacy that could ultimately decide the SEC championship.