BATON ROUGE – Junior Kellie Murphy and freshman Kaley Blades each scored goals to lead the three-time defending SEC Western Division champion LSU soccer team to a 2-0 blanking of McNeese State on Thursday night at the LSU Soccer Complex as the Tigers improved to 3-0 on the spring season.
LSU has also earned shutout wins against Northwestern State by a score of 5-0 on March 24 and Nicholls State by a score of 6-0 on March 30 prior to Thursday’s victory against McNeese State.
Murphy put the Tigers on top 1-0 in the 30th minute of play with her fifth goal of the spring season as she buried a left-footed shot inside the left post from eight yards directly in front of the net.
Rising senior Courtney Alexander led the attack with a pass to freshman Amy Porter in the left side of the penalty area before Porter slotted a precise through ball to Murphy running behind the Cowgirl back line in the middle of the box. Murphy stayed composed and rifled a left-footed shot into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead that would stand heading into the halftime break.
Blades put the match out of reach in the 75th minute of play with her second goal of the spring season. She pounced on a rebound in the right side of the penalty area and snuck a sliding shot inside the right post from near the top of the six-yard box to give the Tigers a deserved 2-0 victory.
LSU returns to action Saturday as the team travels to the Orange Beach Sportsplex in Orange Beach, Ala., to battle SEC Western Division rival Auburn in a match scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m. CT.