Lowell, Mass. – The LSU Soccer Team (1-1-0) will face the UMass Lowell River Hawks (1-2-0) for the first time on Cushing Field on Thursday, August 29 at 5 p.m. CT.
“As we head into our first-ever match against UMass Lowell, our focus is on getting better every day and getting back in the win column. Every game is a new opportunity, and this road match is crucial for us to show our capabilities and ability to bounce back and as we continue to meet quality opponents. We know the River Hawks will bring their best, so it’s all about preparation, execution, and playing with the intensity and passion that we know we have.”
The competition between the Tigers and the River Hawks will be streamed on ESPN+. The watch link and live stats link can be found here.
The Opponent
Thursday evening’s matchup will be the first time that LSU and UMass Lowell face off in program history.
The River Hawks turned in a 1-1 week, picking up their first win of the season on the road at Boston University, 1-0, on Aug. 22 before falling, 1-0, at Holy Cross on Aug. 25. The River Hawks have tallied one goal so far this season belonging to freshman Gaby Eckroth (Mechanicsburg, Pa.).
The River Hawks have taken 33 shots and only allowed two goals from opponents.
Tiger Notables
LSU is 1-1 on the year, coming out hot in their season opener with a 3-0 win over South Alabama on August 15. The squad fell to Arizona State last weekend in a back and forth battle.
The Tigers have scored five goals through two matches so far this year, tallying more shots on goals then their opponents. The squad has recorded 36 shots this year, with 17 of them being on goal.
Ida Hermannsdóttir, Ava Galligan, and Jazmin Ferguson have found themselves on the stat sheet as the three goal scorers so far this season. Hermannsdottir and Ferguson both own two goals through two matches.
Sydney Cheesman has contributed to three of those goals, leading the team on assists. Sage Glover has also earned an assist.
Preseason Watchlist
Five Tigers on the LSU Soccer squad were named to the 2024 SEC Soccer Preseason Watchlist. A total of 88 student-athletes were named to this year’s watchlist, as Mollie Baker, Jazmin Ferguson, Ida Hermannsdóttir, Ava Galligan and Sydney Cheesman are the Tigers to keep an eye on this year.
Baker, Hermannsdottir and Galligan all return to LSU this year, while Ferguson and Cheesman transferred to the team this spring and enter their first season in the Purple and Gold.
A captain and leader on this year’s LSU squad, Baker enters her final season with the Tigers in 2024. The Gilbert, Arizona native was the only player to appear and start in all 20 matches for the Tigers last year. The forward tallied three goals, five assists, and 1,551 minutes on the pitch while earning United Soccer Coaches All-Southeast Region Third Team honors in 2023.
A native of Reykjivic, Iceland, Hermannsdottir continues to be one of the top midfielders to watch in the nation. She enters year three at LSU with 11 goals, four assists and 2,366 minutes in her career.
Galligan, a dual forward/midfielder out of Ashburn, Virginia, enters her second year with the Tigers after a breakout debut season in 2023. She recorded four goals, five assists and played in all 20 matches in her freshman season.
Ferguson joined the squad from East Carolina University, where she spent two seasons and was the 2023 American Athletic Conference Co-Defensive Player of the Year. A native of Conyers, Georgia, she will serve as a vice captain on the squad as she enters her junior season this upcoming fall. United Soccer Coaches named her a defender to watch in 2024.
Cheesman is a defender out of Lafayette, Colorado, who transferred to LSU from the University of North Carolina, where she tallied 175 minutes on the pitch in her nine games played and helped lead the Tar Heels to two NCAA Tournament appearances. The defender was rated four stars by Top Drawer Soccer in the recruiting rankings in 2022 prior to starting her collegiate career at UNC.
Defender To Watch
United Soccer Coaches named LSU Soccer junior Jazmin Ferguson a defender to watch in 2024.
The defenders watch list was the second position to be announced by the organization, as United Soccer Coaches announced NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Players to Watch lists for every position. Ferguson was the only Tiger to claim a spot by the organization.
The lists are compiled and released by the Division I All-America Committees to promote college soccer.
A native of Conyers, Georgia, Ferguson began her junior season with the Tigers last Thursday as she will continue to be a force in the backline. In her first year at LSU, she will also serve as the Tigers Vice Captain in 2024.
Ferguson has already made a first impression in the Purple and Gold, tallying her first goal in her first start in the squad’s season opener against South Alabama last Thursday.
She transferred to LSU in the spring after spending her first two seasons at East Carolina University, where she was the 2023 American Athletic Conference Co-Defensive Player of the Year.
In her collegiate debut season, she was named the AAC Freshman of the Year as well as earning Second-Team All-Conference and All-Freshman team nods. By the end of the season, she was rated the No. 56 defender in the nation by Top Drawer Soccer as only a freshman.
Last year, the Georgia native became the first East Carolina player in program history to win two postseason awards and just the third Defensive Player of the Year in team history (first since 2008).
Her playing experience will provide a veteran voice on the pitch for LSU while adding depth to the Tigers defensive unit.
The Coaching Staff
Hudson enters her fifth season with the Tigers this year. Since beginning her tenure at LSU in 2019, she has propelled the program to unprecedented success alongside Associate Head Coach Seb Furness, who joined the coaching staff that same year.
Joining them on staff is Assistant Coaches Antony Blackburn and Conor Cable. Blackburn is a native of Derby, England, who initially joined the Tigers in Fall 2023 as an analyst. He will primarily assist with session planning and delivery, individual development plans, and opposition preparation. Prior to LSU, Blackburn served as Head Coach of Valencia C.F. U14’s (Valencia, Spain), one of the most prestigious academies in the world of professional soccer.
Cable joins the Tigers from Lake Erie College, where he spent five years helping lead the storm to new heights. Cable will primarily lead the LSU goalkeeping unit and oversee LSU Soccer community service and outreach events.
The Spalding, England native brings a wealth of experience to Baton Rouge from both his previous work with the Lake Erie goalkeeping unit and his own professional experiences. Cable came through the professional system in England, playing for a variety of Premier League and Championship Clubs including Norwich City and Cardiff City, and spent his youth academy days at Bristol City Football Club.
Under Hudson’s leadership, the LSU Tigers achieved significant milestones during the 2023 season, marking their ninth NCAA Tournament appearance and third consecutive postseason showing—the most straight appearances by a coach in LSU history. Notably, Hudson secured her first LSU NCAA Tournament victory with a first-round win against Lamar on November 11, 2022.
This upcoming season, Hudson and her staff will look to earn her fourth consecutive and LSU’s 10th overall NCAA appearance. The Tigers also hope to secure the program’s 14th ten-win season while in pursuit of an SEC and national championship.
Attendance is another important component for the Tigers, as Hudson and her staff are striving to set new attendance records inside the LSU Soccer Stadium in 2024. Three of the program’s top ten largest crowds occurred under Hudson’s tenure.
“I’m committed to working tirelessly alongside my staff and team to achieve the success our Tiger fans deserve,” said Hudson. “Witnessing the growth of soccer in Louisiana during my time here has been incredibly rewarding, and we want to continue to build on that each year.”
The 2024 Roster
This year’s team is a mix of youth and experience. The roster is made up of 29 players, with one graduate student, two seniors, seven juniors, nine sophomores and 10 freshmen.
Mollie Baker and Jaden Humbyrd will lead the squad as captains this year, while ECU transfer Jazmin Ferguson will serve as the vice captain.
LSU has welcomed four new transfers for this upcoming season in Ferguson, Cheesman, Sophine Kevorkian (USD) and Gabbi Ceballos (TCU).
The veteran seniors include Baker, Humbyrd and Tori Gillis, who all enter their final season with the Tigers this year.
Kevorkian, Ferguson, Hermannsdottir, Cheesman, Jocelyn Ollivierre, Angelina Thoreson and Sage Glover make up the junior class.
Thoreson returns to the pitch this year after sitting out of the 2023 season due to injury.
The sophomores on the squad are Ceballos, Danielle Shannon, Kelsey Major, Audur Scheving, Caley Swierenga, Andrea Iljkic, Ava Galligan, Brielyn Knowles and Alyson Campbell.
The freshmen class includes Riley MacDonald, Amy Smith, Annaleigh Bruser, Katelyn Holt, Emerson DeLuca, Ava Amsden, Aurora Gaines, Senai Rogers, Sarah Stadler and Natalie Dvorakova.
The addition of Scheving to the squad brings LSU’s total to four internationals on the roster. She is the second player to become a Tiger from Reykjavik, Iceland, along with Hermannsdottir. Other countries represented on the squad are Sweden and Czechia.
The full 2024 LSU Soccer Roster can be found here.
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