BATON ROUGE – The LSU Soccer team (4-2-1) will host the Northwestern State Demon’s (2-4-0) to conclude non-conference play inside the LSU Soccer Stadium on Sunday, September 10 at 4 p.m. CT.
The in-state matchup also concludes a three-match home slate for the Tigers as they open conference play on the road next week.
“We are excited for another Sunday home contest. Our recent Sunday games have brought a lot of goals and some great team performances and I think after the comeback against Pepperdine on Thursday night, the team is fired up and ready to go,” said head coach Sian Hudson.
“The atmosphere around campus is always buzzing as we kick off football season so fully expect the team to come out of the gates firing on all cylinders tomorrow.”
The competition between the Tigers and the Demons will be available to watch via streaming on SEC Network+ and live stats for the game can be found on lsusports.net.
Promotion
The first 150 fans to arrive at Sunday’s match will receive a free LSU Soccer mini-soccer ball. Following the conclusion of Sunday’s match, there will be a free kids clinic autograph session.
Please use this link to sign up all participants for the post-match kids clinic.
All promotions for the 2023 LSU Soccer season can be found here.
Series History
LSU owns the series over Northwestern State with a 4-0-1 record. The Tigers and the Demons last met in 2015 when the two teams battled to a 1-1 draw in Baton Rouge.
Last Time On The Pitch
The LSU Soccer team (4-2-1) battled to a 2-2 draw in a weather-affected match against the Pepperdine Waves (2-0-5) on Thursday night at the LSU Soccer Stadium. It was the two teams third draw in three meetings.
Pepperdine struck first in the match in Baton Rouge with a goal from forward Tori Waldeck in the 20th minute. Waves midfielder Skylar Enge extended the Pepperdine lead to 2-0 in the 28th minute, but the LSU midfielder responded with a goal in the 35th minute to put the Tigers on the board. The equalizer was notched by LSU forward Ava Galligan in the 83rd minute as the match ended 2-2 on the day
LSU goalkeeper Mollie Swift made an impressive double save in the 15th minute of the match to deny the Waves an early goal. Swift made the first save on a long-range effort and showed her quick reflexes as she readjusted and gobbled up the second shot from close range to nullify the Wave scoring chance. Soon after, Pepperdine took an early lead in the match via a 20th minute strike from Tori Waldeck. Waldeck received a pass from Karina Gonzalez, sprinted past LSU’s Hali Hartman and rounded goalkeeper Mollie Swift and slotted the ball into the net to give the Waves a 1-0 advantage.
Pepperdine was on the attack again just eight minutes later. The Waves’ Waldeck once again found herself in a dangerous position inside the LSU box. Rather than shooting the ball, Waldeck laid it off to an arriving Skylar Enge, who calmly passed the ball into the net to make it a 2-0 game in favor of Pepperdine.
The Tigers refused to quit after going down 2-0. In the 35th minute, midfielder Ava Galligan nearly took the ball the entire length of the pitch and roped a shot that crashed off of the crossbar directly to the feet of forward Mollie Baker. Baker made a quick decision and laid it off to midfielder Ida Hermansdottir, who rifled a shot into the top right corner of the goal to reduce the deficit to one. Galligan and Baker were each credited with an assist on the goal. It was Galligan’s fourth assist on the year while Baker recorded her third.
The first half ended 2-1 in favor of Pepperdine. After a two-and-a-half-hour weather delay, LSU opened the second half on the front foot with an attacking emphasis. Forward Rammie Noel recorded a shot on goal in the opening minutes of the second half as the Tigers attempted to equalize the match.
LSU found a breakthrough with just seven minutes remaining in the match. After a Pepperdine clearance, defender Tori Gillis fired a pass up to Galligan. From just outside the 18-yard box, Galligan shot the ball from long range into the bottom left-hand corner of the net for a goal, giving Pepperdine’s goalkeeper Taylor Roth no chance to stop the shot. The goal was Galligan’s first of her Tiger career while Gillis notched her first career assist.
Baker and Galligan led LSU with four shots each on the day. Both of the Tigers recorded a shot on net, with Galligan netting a goal and an assist. The Tigers dominated in the shot category in the second half as they outshot the Waves ten to four.
2023 Stat Leaders
Hermannsdottir took the lead as the Tigers leading goal scorer this year after notching her fourth goal against Pepperdine. The goal moved her career total to 11.
The midfielder has also tallied two assists, nine shots on goal and 10 points through seven matches for the Tigers.
Baker is the second highest goal-scorer with three on the year. She has started in all seven matches for the Tigers and has also recorded three assists, 10 shots on goals and nine points. The forward owns seven career goals in the Purple & Gold.
Freshman forward Ava Galligan has tallied four assists in her first year as a Tiger to record a team-high.
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.
The Tigers have scored at least one goal in every match this season and have recorded 20 goals and 61 points through seven matches this season.
Conference Rankings
LSU sits at fourth in the SEC West with an overall record of 4-2-1. The squad holds a 3-1-1 home record and a 1-1-0 on the road as they approach a two-match road slate on Thursday
The Tigers lead the rankings in points, assists and assists per game while being tied with Arkansas and South Carolina for most goals.
Hermannsdottir and Baker ranked amongst the top-10 players in the conference, holding place in the categories of shots, points and goals.
Swift is tied at the top for shutouts combined in the conference and places in the top five keepers with her 15 saves.
Galligan is tied at the top for most assists through seven matches.
Noel, Dobles Notch Soccer 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.
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.
Follow the Tigers
Stay up to date with all things LSU soccer by following us on our team’s social media channels @LSUsoccer on Instagram and Twitter and Facebook.