BATON ROUGE – The LSU Soccer team (4-2-0) is set to host the Pepperdine Waves (2-0-4) for a highly anticipated matchup inside the LSU Soccer Stadium on Thursday, September 7 at 6 p.m. CT.
“We are really excited for our return match up versus Pepperdine. The first contest in Malibu was a great game between two teams who like to play good soccer and ended in a tie,” said head coach Sian Hudson. “Tim (Ward) is a fantastic coach and someone I respect at the highest level. His teams are always competing for top honors in the West Coast Conference (WCC).”
“This is a game Tiger fans do not want to miss with two great teams under the lights at the LSU Soccer Stadium just two days before Tiger Stadium welcomes fans for the first time in 2023. Be there!”
The competition between the Tigers and the Waves will be available to watch via streaming on SEC Network+ and live stats for the game can be found on lsusports.net.
Promotion
There will be free pizza to the first 100 students to arrive at Thursday’s match. Students must show LSU ID in order to receive. Gates to the LSU Soccer Stadium open at 5 p.m. CT.
All promotions for the 2023 LSU Soccer season can be found here.
Series History
LSU owns a 0-0-2 series record against Pepperdine as the squad will look for their first program win over the Waves on Thursday evening on the Tigers home pitch.
The Waves and Tigers last met during the 2022 season at Tari Frahm Rokus Field, where the two battled to a 2-2 draw in Malibu. Pepperdine was ranked No. 14 at the time.
Last Time On The Pitch
The LSU Soccer team (4-2-0) recorded their fourth victory of the 2023 season on Sunday afternoon at the LSU Soccer Stadium as they defeated the Texas A&M Commerce Lions (1-4-1) by a score of 6-0.
The Tigers began the scoring with a Sage Glover goal after 22 minutes. Midfielder Ida Hermansdottir did an excellent job to hold the ball up in the Lions’ final third, where she played in forward Mollie Baker just outside the eighteen yard box. Baker wasted no time and fired a pass into a surging Glover, who made no mistake slotting it past the Lions goalkeeper Gillian McKenzie. The goal was Glover’s second of the season while Hermansdottir and Baker were credited with assists.
LSU’s second goal came just before halftime in the 43rd minute. Midfielder Jordan Johnson found herself all alone in the midfield and sent a brilliant ball to forward Raelyn Prince, who hit an incredible shot off of a half volley just outside the box that was no match for the Lions’ goalkeeper and landed in the back of the net. The goal was Prince’s first of the season while Johnson’s assists was her second of the year.
The Tigers found themselves on the scoresheet early in the second half via a Britney Bertram header in the 53rd minute. Prince and Caley Swierenga connected on short passes from a corner that saw Swarinega cross the ball into the box for Bertram, who headed it home with power to make it 3-0 on the day. The goal was Bertram’s second of the season while Prince’s assist was her second as well. For Swierenga, the assist was the first of her collegiate career.
Midfielder Kelsey Major made it 4-0 in the 58th minute with a superb left-footed finish from 14 yards out. Swierenga sent a cross from the right flank to Major in the box, who recovered from a mistake on her first touch by firing a bullet on the turn with her left foot that powered past the goalkeeper. The goal was the first of her collegiate career for the sophomore from New Orleans while Swierenga’s assist was her second of the day.
The fifth goal of the day came in the 84th minute as Rammie Noel pounced on a loose ball in the box with a right foot half-volley from ten yards out. The goal was the second of the season for Noel and the eighth in her career.
LSU’s final goal of the day came two minutes later as Major doubled her tally. Defender Laney Gonzales sent an accurate cross from the left flank into the box that found the head of Major, who sent it past the goalkeeper and into the left corner. With the goal, Major’s goal count moved up to two while Gonzales’ assist is her first this season.
The Tigers outshot the Lions by a margin of 26-3, with the visiting team unable to register a shot on goal in the match. LSU’s defense claimed its second clean sheet of the season and limited the Lions in quality and quantity of choices. In possession, LSU won the battle by a margin of 70% to 30%. It was a total team effort from top to bottom for the Tigers
Noel, Dobles Notch Weekly Honors
Forwards Rammie Noel and Taylor Dobles were the first Tigers to earn recognition for their performance on the pitch this year.
A fifth-year senior from Carencro, Louisiana, Noel has been a crucial component for the Tigers this year on both sides of the ball. She proved her experience when she was named to the Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week on August 29 following her performance in week two.
Noel notched her first goal of the year in the Tigers competition against the Southern Jaguars. Defender Maya Gordon found open midfielder Ava Galligan, who took the ball with open space down the right side. The freshman sent a ground cross ball into the box to Noel, who found the finish as she tapped it into the back of the net to make the score 1-0 LSU. The goal was the seventh of her career.
Forward Taylor Dobles was named the SEC Player of the Week following her performance against No. 9 Texas and Southern, announced by the league on Monday, August 28.
The Pembroke Pines, Florida native had a huge performance on the road in week two to lead the Tigers to victory over No. 9 Texas on Thursday, August 24. In the match against the Longhorns, Dobles recorded her sixth and seventh career goals, tallied the third brace of her career and matched her career high goals in a single match.
The award marked the first conference honor for the graduate student in her career.
2023 Stat Leaders
Baker and Hermannsdottir have started in all six matches for the Tigers thus far and lead the squad in goals and points. Both have individually recorded three goals and two assists each to tally eight points on the year.
Baker’s goals this year came against Southern Miss and Southern to move her career total to seven while Hermannsdottir tallied goals against Southern Miss and No. 9 Texas. The sophomore owns 10 career goals.
The duo ranks amongst the top-10 players in the conference in shots, goals and points.
Dobles follows as the second-most goal leader with two on the year, both coming from the Tigers win against No. 9 Texas.
Freshman forward Ava Galligan has tallied three assists in her first year as a Tiger to record a team-high. She is tied at the top for most assists through six matches in the conference.
Goalkeeper Mollee Swift has recorded 12 saves on the year with five starts and 400 minutes played in between the posts this year. Her 12 saves rank as the fourth-most in the conference thus far.
LSU leads the conference rankings in points, assists and assists per game while being tied with Arkansas and South Carolina for most goals.
The Captains
LSU is captained by the veteran duo of fifth year seniors Maya Gordon and Mollee Swift for the 2023 season.
A native of Papillion, Nebraska, Swift is a three-year starter between the posts for the Tigers. The goalkeeper recorded 77 saves last year, which placed her third in the conference. She also averaged 4.05 saves per game leading all SEC keepers. She was responsible for five clean sheets in the 2022 season and finished the year with a record of 7-4-7 and 1,693 minutes played.
Swift currently ranks third in LSU program history in saves and shutouts as she will look to continue to etch her name in the record book this year.
Gordon is a veteran in the backline who has notched notable minutes in her four years at LSU with a total of 4,775 minutes on the pitch heading into her final season.
The Fort Lauderdale, Florida, native earned the start in 18 of 19 matches for the Tigers last year and returns experience to the defensive unit.
The Squad
This year, the roster is composed of 28 athletes with nine seniors, three juniors, 11 sophomores and five freshmen. 21 Tigers return from the 2022 roster who made a run to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
There are seven new faces on the 2023 squad, including freshman Caley Swierenga, Andrea Iljkic, Ava Galligan, Brielyn Knowles and Alyson Campbell. New to the squad this year is also sophomore transfer out of Oklahoma, Hali Hartman, and walk-on Sarah Portis.
Fifth-year veterans Mollee Swift and Maya Gordon are key returners as they lead the squad as captains this upcoming season. Also returning are seniors Rammie Noel, Taylor Dobles, Jordan Johnson, Abby Smith, Britney Bertram, Mollie Baker and Bella Zanotelli, who bring experience and depth to the squad.
The junior class is composed of Nevaeh Johnson, Tori Gillis and Jaden Humbyrd. Danielle Shannon, Laney Gonzales, Bailey Herfurth, Jocelyn Ollivierre, Ida Hermannsdóttir, Angelina Thoreson, Kelsey Major Raelyn Prince and Sage Glover are ready for year two in the purple and gold.
Three countries are represented in this year’s squad (United States, Iceland and Sweden). Ida Hermannsdottir is a native of Iceland and Angelina Thoreson is a proud Swede.
Of the remaining 26 athletes, six are native to Colorado, five to Texas, and four to Louisiana and Florida. The remaining states that are represented are Arizona, New York, Virginia, Nebraska, Virginia and Washington.
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