AUBURN, Ala. – The LSU Soccer team (8-7-2, 3-5-1 SEC) suffered defeat at the hands of the Auburn Tigers (7-6-4, 3-4-2 SEC) on Sunday afternoon inside the Auburn Soccer Complex.
LSU was led statistically by goalkeeper Mollee Swift, who had five saves over the course of the match. The Purple & Gold Tigers took nine shots on the day, with Neveah Johnson, Taylor Dobles and Laney Gonzales all tallying a shot on target.
“It was a really frustrating performance overall. We didn’t start the game well, which has been a common theme this season and in a crucial game like this, we just can’t afford to give teams a head start,” head coach Sian Hudson said. “It was a spirited second half performance, but the message looking ahead to Thursday against Texas A&M is that we must come out and play from first whistle to last in an all or nothing game for us.”
Auburn started off on the front foot as their first goal came early in the match in the sixth minute. Maddie Simpson found the back of the net to give the home Tigers the lead while Anna Haddock provided the assist on the goal.
In the 20th minute of the contest, Auburn won a corner in the LSU end of the field. Anna Haddock played the ball into the box and Jessica Osborne headed the ball past LSU’s Mollee Swift into the back of the goal, extending Auburn’s lead to 2-0.
The first half ended 2-0 in favor of Auburn, who tested LSU keeper Swift with five shots on goals in the first half. LSU’s Ava Galligan, Kelsey Major, and Sage Glover took their opportunity at the net in the first 45 minutes, but couldn’t find the target. Swift recorded three first half saves.
LSU saw their first scoring opportunity in the 52nd minute of the second half as Gonzales, who received the ball at the top of the box from Galligan, got around the Auburn defender and took a shot to the upper left that went straight to Auburn keeper Maddie Prohaska.
Nevaeh Johnson continued to look for LSU’s first goal of the match in the 68th minute as she attempted to head the ball into the back of the net off a corner from Glover, but the attempt was collected by Auburn Keeper Prohaska.
Simpson extended Auburn’s lead to 3-0 as she notched her second goal of the evening. In the 73rd minute, Auburn’s Sydnie Thibodeaux had her shot attempt blocked by an LSU player, but Simpson made no mistake with her shot on the rebound and placed it into the top right hand corner.
Dobles recorded the Tiger’s last chance on goal in the 77th minute. The forward found the breakaway after Auburn tried to clear the ball upfield that reflected off LSU’s Danielle Shannon right to the foot of the Dobles, who sped past the Auburn defender and took a shot on target that was saved by Prohaska.
The visiting Tigers couldn’t find their scoring momentum on the day as the match ended 3-0 in favor of the home Tigers in Auburn. LSU took nine shots compared to Auburn’s 13, while losing the possession battle 45% to 55%.
LSU will return to action on Thursday, October 26, for the squad’s regular season finale against the Texas A&M Aggies at home in Baton Rouge. The match will take place at the LSU Soccer Stadium at 7:30 p.m CT on SEC Network. Live stats will be available at lsusports.net.