Baton Rouge, La. – The LSU soccer team (4-7-3) will host Southern University (1-1-0) for a Friday afternoon matchup at LSU Soccer Stadium; admission is free and first kick is set for 1 p.m. CT.
Free Admission | Live Stats | Live Stream | 2020-21 Stats
Gaining Momentum
The Tigers come into the match having gone 4-1-1 in their last six contests dating back to the first round of the SEC Tournament in November. LSU has picked up wins against Alabama, No. 14 Ole Miss, Southern Miss, and South Alabama in that stretch as well as a tie against SEC foe Auburn. The only loss in the last six came against No. 8 Texas A&M in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament by a tally of 1-0. South Alabama is an NCAA tourney team as they won the Sun Belt Conference title in the fall.
Series History
LSU and Southern have played three times. LSU won 9-0 in 2003, 10-0 in 2004, and 4-0 in 2005.
Tigers at LSU Soccer Stadium
2020-21 marks the 25th season of LSU hosting soccer matches at LSU Soccer Stadium. LSU’s record at LSU Soccer Stadium is 126-81-30 dating back to the 1996 season. The LSU soccer program played its first season in 1995 at the University High field adjacent to the football practice facility and went 9-2-1 at home that season. LSU owns a home record of 16-13-5 over the past three seasons.
Last Time Out
The Tigers completed a 2-1 comeback win on Sunday against NCAA Tournament bound South Alabama on the road. The Tigers entered halftime trailing 1-0, but a second half brace by redshirt junior Tinaya Alexander brought LSU back for the victory. Her first goal came in the 53rd minute off a header. Wasila Diwura-Soale and Savannah Mills were credited with assists on the play. Mills was the player who sent the cross into the six for Alexander to head home; it was Mills’ first assist in an LSU uniform.
Sixteen minutes later Alexander was played into the right side of the box by Meghan Johnson before she was fouled by a South Alabama defender. Alexander toed the penalty spot and knocked in the game winner in the 69th minute. LSU was able to neutralize South Alabama’s chances late in the match and came away with the win.
Stifling Defense
LSU’s backline has been working in complete cohesion with the LSU goalkeeper tandem of Mollee Swift and Bella Zanotelli over the past six matches only allowing three goals in 570 minutes of game action. That’s good for a goals averaged against number of 0.47. Swift has a GAA of 1.13 in 13 games played and Zanotelli has a GAA of 1.33 in her two games played this season.
Tinaya Time
Redshirt junior Tinaya Alexander is having a career year with seven goals and two assists for a career high point total of 16. Alexander has three braces on the season, a mark that leads the SEC. She has factored into the box score in six of LSU’s 14 matches and in those games the Tigers are 4-1-1. Her second assist of the season, which came on Feb. 19 against Southern Miss, moved her career total to 15 which is the 10th most in program history. Alexander’s 1.33 points averaged per game ranks as the fourth highest total in the SEC this season.
Swift Saves
Sophomore transfer Mollee Swift has now played 13 matches in net for the Tigers since arriving in Baton Rouge. The sophomore has collected 65 saves and is allowing 1.13 goals per game with a save percentage of .812. Swift leads the SEC with 65 saves and her aforementioned save percentage of .812 ranks No. 3 in the SEC.
SEC Players of the Week
Tinaya Alexander (offensive) and Mollee Swift (defensive) were recognized by the Southeastern Conference on Monday after their performances against Auburn and South Alabama over the weekend. Alexander had two goals in LSU’s 2-1 win over South Alabama, and Swift registered 11 saves on the weekend and notched her second solo shutout of the season on Friday night against Auburn.
The Hudson Profile
Sian Hudson is serving as the seventh head coach in LSU history during the 2020-21 season. She came to LSU after coaching at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs where she accumulated a record of 52-10-4 in three seasons from 2017-19. Her win totals in each of the three seasons – 17 in 2017, 16 in 2018, and 19 in 2019 – were the three winningest seasons in program history. She led UCCS to the NCAA Division II Tournament in each of those three seasons which included a run to the national semifinals in 2017.
Prior to UCCS she spent two seasons as an assistant at Colorado College in Colorado Springs as well as coaching in the W-League. As the head skipper in 2015, she led the Colorado College to the conference title and she had four players drafted into the National Women’s Soccer League during her time with the Pride.
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