Orange Beach, Ala. – The seventh-seeded LSU soccer team will look to continue its stellar play as of late as it takes on the sixth-seeded and No. 17 South Carolina Gamecocks in the SEC semifinals on Friday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. CT at the Orange Beach Sportsplex. The match will air live on the SEC Network.
LSU (12-6-2) has used two thrilling results to get to its sixth all-time appearance in the SEC Tournament semifinals, all of which have come under the direction of Brian Lee. Riding the sensational performance of Alex Thomas‘ hat trick in the opening round victory over Missouri on Sunday and then advancing past No. 12 Tennessee in penalties on Tuesday, the Tigers now shift their focus to a team that they played just 11 days ago.
In that match 11 days ago against South Carolina, Lucy Parker lifted LSU to victory with the first multi-goal game of her Purple and Gold career. With LSU trailing by one in the late stages of regulation Parker ripped a right-footed volley from the right side of the box that equalized the game in the 89th minute. Then, in the second overtime stanza, she knocked in a curling 30-yard shot to give LSU the golden goal victory in the 106th minute of play.
The Basics | Game Notes
LSU vs. No. 17 South Carolina | 2:30 p.m. CT | Friday | SEC Network
Live Stats | Live Stream | Live Updates | Season Stats
Scouting South Carolina
2018 Record: 13-4-1
Leading Scorers
Lauren Chang – 16 points (7g & 2a)
Selma Sol Magnusdottir – 15 points (4g & 7a)
Goalkeeper
Mikayla Krzeczowski – 0.52 GAA, 38 saves, .809 save percentage
Notes
South Carolina advanced to the semis after a win over No. 3 seeded Texas A&M on Tuesday, 2-1.
LSU at the SEC Tournament | Tournament Bracket
After Tuesday’s draw with No. 12 Tennessee, LSU owns an all-time record of 8-10-5 in the league tournament. Seven of LSU’s eight all-time wins at the SEC Tournament have come under the helm of Brian Lee.
Series History
South Carolina and LSU have only played twice in the SEC Tournament. In LSU’s lone trip to the SEC title match in 2009, South Carolina edged the Tigers 8-7 in penalties after playing 110 minutes and being knotted up at one. One year later the exact same thing happened and South Carolina advanced on penalties by a tally of 4-3 in the SEC semifinals. LSU’s win over South Carolina during the regular season was the third in program history.
Four LSU soccer players were honored with All-Southeastern Conference accolades on Sunday. Sophomore defender Lucy Parker was named to the All-SEC First Team, Alex Thomas and Adrienne Richardson earned All-SEC Second Team honors, and Abbey Newton was named to the All-Freshman Team.
Timely Thomas
Alex Thomas has played the best soccer of her career as of late and leads the Tigers in points accounted for (18) and is tied for the team lead in goals (7) with Adrienne Richardson. Her career-long point streak of eight matches came to an end in Tuesday’s game against Tennessee, but her presence was felt as she took six shots, four of which were on goal, and one forced a diving save by Shae Yanez, Tennessee’s keeper. The eight match point streak was the second longest in LSU history, only falling behind the streak of Mandy Heintz that lasted 10 matches in 2002. Sixteen of her team-leading 18 points have been registered against SEC opponents and all those sixteen came within the eight-match streak for the senior from New Orleans. Her hat trick against Missouri on Sunday was the first by an LSU player at the SEC Tournament; it was the 22nd in LSU history. Thomas has played wherever she has been needed this season playing either on the back line or front line. Her 6,940 career minutes are the sixth most in LSU history and she just cracked the top 10 with the ninth most starts in school history with her 79th on Tuesday against Tennessee. She also ranks tied for second alongside Ashley Mitnick in the LSU record book for penalty kicks scored in a career with five; four in 2018 and one in 2017. Her four penalty kick scores ranks as the second most in the NCAA.
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 (1.04 avg.), save percentage (.809), wins (12) and shutouts (8). Her 22 career shutouts are the second most in program history. She has racked up 93 saves this season to bring her career total to 271 which is also the second most in school history, only 13 behind Megan Kinneman‘s school record of 284.
Attacking Adrienne
Sophomore forward Adrienne Richardson ranks second on the team with 16 points registered and is tied for the team lead in goals (7) with Alex Thomas. Her dynamic skillset to LSU’s attacking front has immediately bolstered the LSU offense. The Oakdale, Minn., native has scored multiple goals in three games this season against Texas State, Lamar and Alabama. Three of her seven goals have come against SEC opponents with the most recent one coming against Mississippi State last Thursday night (Oct. 25) that was an upper 90 rocket. She picked up the second assist of her LSU career in Tuesday’s result against Tennessee when she and Marlena Cutura assisted Shannon Cooke‘s first-career goal. Richardson is the first player since Jorian Baucom (2016) to score multiple goals in at least three games for LSU in a single season.
Clicking Cutura
Marlena Cutura is having the best season of her collegiate career in 2018. The junior has career highs in goals (3), assists (5) and total points (11). Two of her three goals this year have been game winners for the Tigers squad that is 6-0-1 when she scores a goal or assists on one. 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 (2g & 3a) in a four-game stretch from Aug. 30 to Sept. 9.
Youthful Resurgence
Seven of LSU’s top nine scorers in 2018 are underclassmen. Adrienne Richardson, a sophomore transfer from Florida State, leads the way for underclassmen with 16 points (7g & 2a) and is followed by freshman Abbey Newton, who has accounted for 10 points (4g & 2a) in her debut season. Lindsey Eaton (2g & 2a), Lucy Parker (3 goals) and Molly Thompson (goals) have all chipped in six points apiece, and sophomore Tinaya Alexander has dished out a team leading six assists. Shannon Cooke scored the first goal of her career on Tuesday against Tennessee in the SEC quarterfinal round to move her point total on the season to four (1g & 2a). LSU has played up to as many as eight underclassmen on the field in 2018. LSU has received 43 percent of its points (37 of 80) from newcomers to rank as the second most in the conference. Newcomers who have scored in 2018 are Richardson, Newton, Thompson, Cooke and Moffatt.
Assisting Alexander
Tinaya Alexander owns the team lead with six assists in 2018 and is the jump starter to an abundant amount of LSU’s offensive opportunities. During the two SEC Tournament matches, Alexander has only been credited with one assist, but she has been involved in three of LSU’s four goals at the conference tournament. She assisted Thomas on her first goal of the league tournament against Missouri, and then in the second overtime against Missouri, Alexander dribbled down towards the end line and sent in a cross that eventually wound up in Adrienne Richardson getting pulled down and resulting in a penalty that Alex Thomas would cash in to send the Tigers to the quarterfinals. On Tuesday against Tennessee, Alexander played a ball nicely into the Vols’ territory that Marlena Cutura was on the receiving end of. A couple of more passes and it resulted in the lone goal for LSU that came off of Shannon Cooke‘s foot. Alexander’s .34 assists per game rank has her ranked sixth in the LSU record book for assists per game. Her six total assists in 2018 are the eighth-most in the SEC.
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 adder her third goal of the season in the regular season finale against Mississippi State and Shannon Cooke just scored her first goal donning the Purple and Gold on Tuesday against Tennessee. Reese Moffatt has added an assist this season and played in all 20 matches. Meghan Johnson (has played in six matches) had the biggest moment of her young career on the biggest stage of her life on Tuesday. With LSU tied 6-6 in penalties against Tennessee, Johnson toed the spot with a chance to win it for the Tigers in the ninth round and her strike was phenomenal and sent LSU on to the SEC semifinals.