BATON ROUGE – The LSU Soccer team (8-6-2, 3-4-1 SEC) will face the Auburn Tigers (6-6-4, 2-4-2 SEC) in prime time on Sunday, October 22 at 4 p.m. CT inside the Auburn Soccer Complex.
“We are very focused on the Auburn match and looking to use a confidence building performance versus Arkansas as a springboard into a must win game for us,” head coach Sian Hudson said. “I thought the team spirit and defensive solidarity on Thursday night was unmatched over the course of this season for us, so we fully expect to see the same attention to winning aerial duels and 50/50 match ups as well as an organized and defensive unit in Auburn.”
“It was great to see big performances from our entire back four, but also individual performances from Tori Gillis and Jayden Humbyrd, who are such fantastic servants for this program. They both brought a defensive grit and a level of communication that we had lacked in recent games. I am also thrilled for Ava Galligan, who continues to shine in a great breakout season, and of course Mollee Swift, who broke the saves record and is leaving her legacy at LSU.”
The battle between the Tigers will be broadcast live on SEC Network and live stats for the game can be found on lsusports.net.
Series History
Auburn leads the series against LSU with a record of 20-8-5. The Orange & Blue Tigers also own a 11-1-2 record on their home pitch when welcoming the Purple & Gold Tigers.
Sunday’s matchup will be the 34th time the two programs have met. The last time the two faced off was in 2022, when the match finished as a scoreless draw in Baton Rouge.
LSU will look for their first win against Auburn since 2010 as well as earning three points to secure their positions in the SEC Tournament.
Last Time On The Pitch
The LSU Soccer team (8-6-2, 3-4-1 SEC) battled to a 1-1 draw to earn a point against the No. 9 Arkansas Razorbacks (10-4-2, 6-2-1 SEC) on Thursday night inside the LSU Soccer Stadium.
Forward Ava Galligan opened the scoring in the match with a header in the 77th minute to give LSU the lead in the second half, but Arkansas midfielder Bea Franklin responded and evened the score just six minutes later in the 83rd minute. Neither team could find the advantage as the match ended in a 1-1 draw in Baton Rouge.
With her save in the 30th minute, graduate student goalkeeper Mollee Swift marked a new program record for LSU as she became the new all-time saves leader. Swift surpassed former Tiger Caroline Brockmeier, who previously held the LSU saves record at 277. Swift finished the night with three saves to move her career total to 290.
Arkansas opened the match by dominating the time of possession, but neither team could tally a shot on goal for the first 28 minutes. LSU defender Caley Swierenga forced Razorback goalkeeper Phoebe Carver to make the first save of the match with a soft shot from the bottom left side of the box.
Following a Tiger foul, Arkansas forward Anna Podojil recorded the Razorbacks first shot on goal of the night with a blast from the top of the box, which was saved by LSU goalkeeper Mollee Swift.
As the first half came to a close, LSU defender Rammie Noel stopped a last second chance from Arkansas and turned the ball up field to Galligan. Galligan played the ball to forward Ida Hermannsdottir who returned the chance to Galligan with a through ball and a breakaway in the final seconds of the half, however Galligan was unable to score on the chance and the first half ended scoreless with neither team able to find the back of the net.
The Tigers and Razorbacks continued battling back and forth in the second half. In the 61st minute of the match, Arkansas forward Morgan White continued the Razorback pressure with a chip shot attempt from the top right of the box that was responded to with an incredible diving one-handed save from Swift.
Following a corner kick, Arkansas forwards kept up the pressure on Swift with an assortment of shots from the top of the box, but all were answered with blocks from LSU defenders. The Arkansas chance ended with a diving one-handed grab from Swift on a cross.
The Tigers broke the scoreless drought in the 77th minute. Noel started the chance with a crossing pass to forward Danielle Shannon, who then placed the ball inside the box to Galligan. Galligan redirected the ball into the back of the net on a beautiful header to put the Tigers ahead 1-0. For Noel and Shannon, the assists marked their fourth and third of the year while Galligan’s goal was the second of her career.
Arkansas looked to tally an equalizer in the 81st minute of the game, but midfielder Tori Gillis kept the Tigers hope alive with an incredible slide tackle. It wasn’t until the 83rd minute that the Razorbacks evened the score following a free kick outside the 18, which resulted in Arkansas midfielder Bea Franklin scoring a point-blank goal off a redirection from forward Ava Tankersley.
LSU was able to tally one more shot on goal in the final seven minutes of the game, but Razorback goalkeeper Sierra Cota-Yarde corralled in the save and neither team was able to create a scoring chance again.
The final horn blew with LSU and Arkansas closing their matchup in a 1-1 draw. The Razorbacks outshot the Tigers by a margin of 18-13, but the Tigers led in shots on goal with a margin of 6-5. While Arkansas started the game with pressure on the LSU defense, the Tigers were able to hold the Razorbacks and earn a point on the night.
2023 Stat Leaders
The Tigers are 8-6-2 on the year with a 2-4 record on the road as the squad gets ready to face the Auburn Tigers away from home on Sunday afternoon.
Forward Taylor Dobles took the lead as the Tigers leading scorer on the year after tallying the squad’s only goal against No. 24 Alabama. The goal against the Tide was her fifth of the year, a season high, and 10th in her career at LSU. The graduate student has also found the back of the net against No. 9 Texas and Northwestern State.
Sage Glover and Ida Hermannsdottir have the second most goals scored on the year for Tiger with four each.
Glover notched her fourth goal on the year in the squad’s match against Mississippi State. Her previous goals have come against Southern, Texas A&M-Commerce and No. 22 Georgia. She owns eight in her career.
Hermannsdottir notched her fourth goal of the year against Pepperdine to move her career total to 11. She scored in the Tiger’s matches against Southern Miss and No. 9 Texas. The midfielder has also tallied two assists, 11 shots on goal and 10 points this season.
Other goal scorers on the year include Noel (3), Baker (3), Galligan (3), Major (2), Bertram (2), Swift (2), Prince (1) and Jordan Johnson (1). The Tigers have over 10 different goal-scorers, which puts them in an elite category.
Baker has been a crucial part of the midfield as she has started in every match for the Tigers this year. The senior has notched 52 shots, with 22 being on target, four assists and 10 points through 1,203 minutes on the pitch.
Freshman forward Ava Galligan leads the team in assists and points. Galligan has notched three goals, five assists, 11 points and 12 shots on goal in her first year as a Tiger. Her first collegiate goal came against Pepperdine, where she found the equalizer, again for the game-winner against Tennessee and most recently against No. 9 Arkansas to put her team on the board.
Goalkeeper Mollee Swift has recorded 52 saves on the year with over 1,000 minutes played in between the posts. She owns a GAA of 1.51. The keep has also tallied two goals on penalty kicks this year.
Sophomore Laney Gonzales played her first full 90 minute match against Tennessee and earned her first career starts in the Tigers matches against the Volunteers and the Tide. Other key players such as Tori Gillis and Jaden Humbyrd made their way back into the starting 11 in the Tiger’s last match against the Razorbacks.
Veteran returners Baker, Swift, and Gordon are the only four players to start in every match for LSU on the year, having tallied over a combined 3,000 minutes on the pitch through 16 matches.
Conference Rankings
LSU moved up one spot in the league after earning a point against No. 9 Arkansas as they sit in seventh. The Tigers own a conference record of 3-4-1 and have tallied 10 points through conference play.
The squad ranks amongst the top five teams in the conference in goals, points and assists. LSU has tallied 30 goals, 30 assists and 90 points through 16 matches this year. The squad has also recorded 237 shots, with 105 of those being on target.
Baker’s 52 shots on the year place her fourth in the conference while Galligan is amongst the top-5 assisters in the conference with five.
Swift ranks third with her 52 saves on the year while also placing in the top-10 in shutouts with her in between the posts.
Swift Saves
Goalkeeper Mollee Swift became the all-time save leader in program history with her 290 career saves and counting. The keeper made three saves in the squad’s last match against No. 9 Arkansas to break the previous save record of 287 and take the lead.
Swift also found her 300th career save this season against Northwestern State. Her career total is now at 335 over her career.
The Papillion, Nebraska native previously recorded 45 saves during her time at the University of Colorado- Colorado Springs that go toward her career total. Since transferring to LSU in 2021, she has tallied 290 saves in between the post to etch herself in the LSU record books.
On the year, the keep has tallied 52 saves through 16 matches and over 1,000 minutes between the posts for the Tigers this year.
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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