Houston, Texas – The LSU soccer team emerged victorious over the Houston Cougars by a score of 1-0 on Sunday afternoon at the Carl Lewis Soccer Complex. The lone goal of the match came in the 52nd minute as defender Jocelyn Ollivierre’s long range effort found the back of the net.
“Really pleased with the team’s response today after the defeat to Baylor,” head coach Sian Hudson said. “To see us respond in all areas of the pitch and get a great overall performance was a testament to the competitive mentality of the team. Houston have proved themselves to be one of the top teams in the AAC and we knew coming into the game it was going to be a very stern test for us. The opening 25 minutes was very even, but after that I thought we took firm control of the game and honestly should have converted more chances and won the game by a larger margin. It was great to see so many freshmen impacting the game at a high level for us and extremely excited for Jocelyn to cap off a fine performance with her first goal in LSU colors.”
The first half was an even contest in the opening stages between the two teams with neither able to take control of the match. Both goalkeepers were called into action as LSU’s Mollee Swift made her first save of the match in the 29th minute while Houston’s Haley Woodward denied forward Alesia Garcia in the 35th minute. Garcia remained on the hunt and only three minutes later hit a shot that was goal bound before a Cougar defender cleared the ball in front of the goal line. Neither team could find a breakthrough and the match went into the break at 0-0.
The second half saw LSU take control of the match and had their strong start rewarded with a goal seven minutes in. Forward Angelina Thoreson picked out Ollivierre, who sent a shot on goal from 30 yards out that beat the Houston goalkeeper and landed in the back of the net to give the Tigers a deserved 1-0 lead on the afternoon.
While the team could not extend its lead, it never lost control of the match and went on to claim a one goal win. LSU outshot the Cougars by a margin of 15-5, with the Tigers having seven shots on goal versus Houston’s two. Swift and fellow goalkeeper Bailey Herfurth combined for the clean sheet, with Herfurth playing the final 22 minutes between the posts.
“This weekend provided a great opportunity for us to get on the road and play two very good teams and spend time doing team bonding activities. The chemistry of this team is special, and you can sense how much they enjoy spending time together and playing for each other. Preseason is all about playing with line ups and finding the best relationships across the field and having used our entire roster this weekend I am very excited about the depth we have this year in every position.”
Up Next
The Tigers return to Baton Rouge and will open the 2022 regular season at 6 p.m. CT against Stephen F. Austin on Thursday, August 18.