OXFORD, Miss. – The LSU Soccer team (5-2-1) will open conference play on the road against the Ole Miss Rebels (4-2-1) on Friday, September 15 at 7 p.m. CT in the Ole Miss Soccer Stadium.
“We are focused on the task at hand and that’s winning the game,” said head coach Sian Hudson. “Set pieces are a very big focus for us coming into SEC play and just making sure that we stay organized and disciplined. For us, it’s just another game and we want to get our conference season started off on the right foot with three points.”
“Ole Miss is a team in transition at the moment with a new coaching staff and a lot of new players on their roster that have transferred in, so I think they’re still working on their new identity as a team and as a program. They’re very enthusiastic at the moment and are working incredibly hard for each other. You can tell that they’re enjoying playing for a new coach. That being said, I think anytime a team is in a period of transition, there’s opportunities to capitalize as they’re assuming a new identity.”
The competition between the Tigers and the Rebels will be available to watch via streaming on SEC Network+ and live stats for the game can be found on lsusports.net.
Series History
The Tigers open conference play on the road against the Rebels, having last met twice in 2022. The series record between LSU and Ole Miss is tied at 13-13-5.
The last meeting was in the SEC Tournament, when Ole Miss advanced on PK’s. The two also met in the Tigers regular season finale last year, where LSU came up victorious with a 4-1 win.
Both teams will look to take the lead in the series history on Friday night.
Last Time On The Pitch
The LSU Soccer team (5-2-1) closed out non-conference play at the LSU Soccer Stadium last Sunday as they defeated the Northwestern State Lady Demons (2-5-0) by a score of 2-1. LSU was led in scoring by Taylor Dobles, who recorded a brace in 70 minutes of action.
It only took the Tigers nine minutes to find themselves on the scoresheet as midfielder Taylor Dobles recorded her 3rd goal of the season. After a scramble for possession in the box, midfielder Danielle Shannon set the ball up perfectly for Dobles, who tapped the ball past the Lady Demon goalkeeper Libe Banuelos for her first score of the match.
Just five minutes later, Dobles made no mistake as she scored her second goal. Defender Jocelyn Ollivierre found forward Rammie Noel with a long overhead through ball on the left side of the pitch. Noel dribbled the ball all the way up into the Lady Demon box and found an arriving Dobles, who once again easily slotted the ball into the back of the net for her second goal of the match and fourth of the year. The goal marked the second time that Dobles has recorded a brace through eight matches on the year.
The first half ended with the Tigers up 2-0. LSU had six shots on goal in the first half in comparison to Northwestern State’s one.
Northwestern State’s Taylor Spitzer put the Lady Demons on the board in the 62nd minute in the second half to make it a 2-1 contest. That tally was Spitzer’s second goal of the season, and the assist was credited to Emily Mougia.
LSU had multiple opportunities on goal during the second half but were unable to convert. The Tigers outshot Northwestern State 12-3 in the second half.
Ava Galligan had a shot from outside the box rattle off the top of the crossbar. Galligan did an excellent job to create space for the shot after breezing past a Lady Demon defender. The shot was mere inches from going into the net.
LSU finished the day with 27 shots over Northwestern State’s four. The match concluded the Tigers’ non-conference slate for the 2023 season as the squad will head into the SEC portion of their schedule.
2023 Stat Leaders
Forward Taylor Dobles and midfielder Ida Hermannsdottir lead the squad in goals scored this year with four each.
Dobles tallied her second brace of the year in the Tiger’s last match against Northwestern State to record her third and fourth goals of the year. She now owns nine in her career.
Hermannsdottir notched her fourth goal against Pepperdine to move her career total to 11. The midfielder has also tallied two assists, nine shots on goal and 10 points through non-conference play.
Baker is the second highest goal-scorer with three on the year and seven in her career. She has also recorded three assists, 10 shots on goals and nine points.
Freshman forward Ava Galligan leads the team in assists with four. She has also notched one goal, six points and three shots on goal in her first year as a Tiger. Her first collegiate goal came against Pepperdine, where she found the equalizer to level out the match for the Tigers and earn a point in the draw.
Goalkeeper Mollee Swift has recorded 17 saves on the year with eight starts and 648 minutes played in between the posts this year. She owns a GAA of 1.25 this year.
Veteran returners Baker, Swift, Gordon and Noel are the only four players to start in every match for LSU during non-conference competition.
Conference Rankings
LSU sits third in the SEC West standings with an overall record of 5-2-1. The squad holds a 4-1-1 home record and are 1-1-0 on the road as they approach a two-match road slate beginning on Friday.
The Tigers lead the rankings in points, goals and assists per game while also placing amongst the top-five teams in the conference in shots.
LSU has tallied 22 goals, 24 assists, 139 shots and 68 points through eight matches this year.
Baker ranks amongst the top-10 players in the conference in the categories of shots with 34 and assists with three. Hermannsdottir also ranks fifth in points with 10 and seventh in goals with four on the year.
Swift’s 17 saves on the year places her sixth in the rankings while Galligan is tied at the top for most assists with four as the Tigers enter conference play.
Swift’s 300 Milestone
Goalkeeper Mollee Swift recorded her 300th career save in the Tiger’s last match against Northwestern State. She recorded two saves against the Lady Demons to reach this milestone in her career.
The Papillion, Nebraska native has tallied 17 saves through eight matches for the Tigers this year.
She previously recorded 45 saves during her time at the University of Colorado- Colorado Springs. Since transferring to LSU in 2021, she has tallied 255 saves in between the posts.
Swift’s current save total of 255 in the Purple & Gold places her at third for most in LSU program history. Megan Kinneman holds second place with 284 while Caroline Brockmeier leads the category with 287 career saves at LSU.
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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