LSU Gold

LSU Wraps Up Regular Season Slate at Mississippi State

by Aaron Hyder
Game Notes - Mississippi State +0
LSU Wraps Up Regular Season Slate at Mississippi State

Baton Rouge, La. – Winners of four of its last six matches, the LSU soccer team (10-6-1, 4-4-1 SEC) will travel to Starkville, Miss., to close out its regular season slate with a match against Mississippi State on Thursday night at 7 p.m. CT.

The Basics | Game Notes

LSU at Mississippi State | 7 p.m. CT

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Scouting Mississippi State

2018 Record: 9-5-2 (2-5-2 SEC)

Leading Scorers

Zakirah McGillivary – 15 points (7g & 1a)

MaKayla Waldner – 14 points (7 goals)

Goalkeeper

Rhylee DeCrane – 0.79 GAA, .794 save percentage, 50 saves

SEC Standings

LSU has clinched a bid to the 2018 SEC Tournament in Orange Beach, Ala. The conference tournament will begin on Sunday (Oct. 28) and run through the next Sunday (Nov. 4). Heading into Thursday night’s matchup against Mississippi State, the Tigers currently own the seventh seed which would slot them in a game on Sunday afternoon.

SEC Tournament Scenarios for LSU:

If LSU wins on Thursday night and Ole Miss loses to Vanderbilt, the Tigers will play in the quarterfinals on Tuesday (Oct. 30). Any other result combination that happens and the Tigers will play on Sunday (Oct. 28) in the First Round of the SEC Tournament.

Series History

The Tigers have absolutely dominated this series since it began in 1995. LSU has won 19 of the 23 matches between the two schools; the Bulldogs have won twice and there has also been two draws. The last meeting between the two came in 2017 and the teams battled to a 2-2 draw; Alex Thomas scored twice in that game. Prior to that draw in 2017, LSU had won the previous 12 matches against the Bulldogs.

Last Time Out

Lucy Parker scored two of the best goals of her career in a 17-minute span to lead LSU to an epic comeback win over then-No. 8 South Carolina on Sunday. Trailing 1-0 with a little over a minute to play, Parker received a deep ball from Shannon Cooke into the right side of the box and she chested it down before ripping a volley to the far left post to even the match up in the 89th minute. She scored the game winner just over five minutes into the second overtime period with a curling shot from 30 yards out after receiving a pass from Alex Thomas. It was the first multi-goal game of Parker’s collegiate career.

RPI Update

LSU enters the week with its highest Ratings Percentage Index ranking of the season in the No. 38 spot. Thursday night’s match against Mississippi State (No. 15 RPI) presents another opportunity for a quality win. 

Timely Thomas

Senior all-around performer Alex Thomas has come on as of late and registered at least a point in the last six games for LSU leading the squad to a 4-2-0 record in that stretch. The six-match streak in which she has registered a point is a career long; she has chipped in three goals and three assists during this stretch to account for nine points and her 1.00 points per game rank eighth in league play. Thomas has done it all this season playing a mix of rightback and forward for the Tigers. She just recently moved into seventh place in the LSU record book for most minutes played in a career with 6,653 minutes of on field time. The New Orleans native has also cashed in four penalty kicks over the last two seasons; that total of four ranks as the third-most penalty kicks made in a career at LSU.

Brockmeier in the Books

Caroline Brockmeier is having a career year in the net during her senior campaign. She owns career bests in goals against average (1.01 avg.), save percentage (.802), wins (10) and shutouts (8). Her eight shutouts in 2018 rank 22nd nationally and her career total is now up to 22 which gives her the second most shutouts in program history. She has racked up 73 saves this season to bring her career total to 251 which is also the second most in school history.

Youthful Resurgence

Six of LSU’s top eight scorers in 2018 are underclassmen. Adrienne Richardson, a sophomore transfer from Florida State, leads the way with 13 points (6g & 1a) and is followed by freshman Abbey Newton who has accounted for 10 points (4g & 2a) in her debut season. Lindsey Eaton and Lucy Parker, both sophomores, have three goals apiece, and Tinaya Alexander (five points) and Molly Thompson (four points) have made their presence felt. The Tigers have played up to as many as eight underclassmen on the field at once this season.

Assisting Alexander

Tinaya Alexander owns the team lead with five assists. Three of her five dimes have come in the last six games assisting Adrienne Richardson‘s goal against Alabama, Marlena Cutura‘s goal against Missouri and Alex Thomas‘ goal against Tennessee. She also had a multi-assist game earlier this season against Texas State on Aug. 26. Alexander’s .34 assists per game over her career have her ranked sixth in the LSU record book for assists per game.

Fab Freshmen

LSU has received quality minutes from five freshmen in 2018. Abbey Newton headlines the class with four goals scored to go along with two assists for a total of 10 points. Molly Thompson added her second goal of the season against Missouri, and Shannon Cooke (2) and Reese Moffatt (1) have added in some assists. Meghan Johnson has appeared in five total games, three of which were conference matches. Cooke and Moffatt have contributed heavily to LSU’s eight shutouts this season.

Clicking Cutura

Marlena Cutura is having the best season of her collegiate career in 2018. The junior has career highs in goals scored (3), assists (4) and total points (10) as a stable in LSU’s midfield. Two of her three goals this year have been game winners for the Tigers squad that is 6-0-0 when she scores a goal or assists on one in 2018. She registered the first multi-assist game of her career earlier this season with a matchup against Stetson (Sept. 6). The first came off a corner and the second was a delicately delivered lead ball sent in to Thompson. She scored seven points (2 goals & 3 assists) in a four-game stretch from Aug. 30 to Sept. 9.

Attacking Adrienne

Sophomore forward Adrienne Richardson has added a dynamic skillset to LSU’s attacking front in 2018. A transfer from Florida State, Richardson arrived in Baton Rouge in January and has immediately stepped right in and helped bolster LSU’s offense. The Oakdale, Minn., native has scored a team-high six goals and 13 points in 2018. Her first breakout came on Aug. 26 against Texas State. She scored goals in the 21st in 71st minutes of the match against Texas State to lead LSU to a 2-0 win. Nine days later as LSU traveled to Lamar for a showdown on Sept. 4, she recorded another multi-goal performance with scores in the 38th and 55th minutes. Her third multi-goal game of the season came on Sept. 27 against Alabama. Her two goals propelled LSU to its first SEC win of the season. Having scored multiple goals in three games this season, Richardson is the first Tiger to score multiple goals in at least three games since Jorian Baucom did so in 2016.