BATON ROUGE – The LSU Soccer Team (3-1-1) is set to host UL-Lafayette (4-0-3) for an in-state rivalry matchup at 6 p.m. CT on Sunday, September 8 inside the LSU Soccer Stadium.
“We are excited to come back out on our home pitch on Sunday against UL-Lafayette. We know that they are going to be tough and it’s a great opportunity for exciting in-state rivalry competition,” said head coach Sian Hudson. “We have another big road week ahead of us, so it is important that we can get the result that we need tomorrow on our home turf. We hope to see all of our fans out there and hopefully bring in some new faces who are in town for football on Saturday night. It’s a great weekend for two sporting events on campus for Tiger fans!”
The competition between the Tigers and the Ragin’ Cajuns in Baton Rouge will be streamed on SEC Network+. The watch link and live stats link can be found here. Visit this link for all things LSU Soccer gameday.
The Tigers are undefeated against the Ragin Cajuns in their all-time history. LSU leads the series 10-0 since the two teams first faced in 2000. The last time the two Louisiana programs faced off was in 2021, when the Purple & Gold Tigers came out on top 5-0 in Lafayette. LSU is also 4-0 when facing UL-Lafayette inside the LSU Soccer Stadium.
Promotions
Sunday night’s match is “International Heritage Night” as the program celebrates not only the international players on the team from Iceland, Sweden and Czech, but the game of soccer around the world.
There will be a free “Geaux Beyond Borders” t-shirt giveaway to the first 150 fans to arrive at the stadium. Tiger fans are also encouraged to wear their favorite soccer jersey to honor soccer teams and players across the world.
The promotions don’t end there. There will also be free Kona Ice and food from Louisiana Creole Creations for fans to enjoy at the match. Gates to the soccer stadium will open at 5 p.m. CT.
All match-by-match promotions for the year can be found here.
The Opponent
The Ragin’ Cajuns own a record of 4-0-3 on the year, having tied Rice in their last match 2-2. Their start on the year is the team’s longest unbeaten streak to start a season in program history. The seven-game streak also is tied for the longest streak overall in program history.
UL-Lafayette has allowed just four goals through seven games, the fewest goals allowed to start a season in program history, and they are the only team in the Sun Belt Conference (SBC) with multiple games this season with 20+ shots; they’ve done so in three matches this season.
With 12, the Cajuns are second in the SBC in goals. They are also third in the league with just four goals allowed.
Tiger Notables
LSU now has five regular season matches under their belt as they fought Utah to a draw in their last match on Thursday. The squad recently earned six points last week as they brought back two road wins over UMass Lowell and Old Dominion and are undefeated on the road this year.
The Tigers own a record of 3-1-1 on the year, having marked wins over South Alabama (W, 3-0), UMass Lowell (W, 3-0) and Old Dominion (2-1), a draw against Utah (T, 1-1) and one loss to Arizona State (L, 5-2).
With their two wins on the road last week, LSU has already matched the amount of road victories tallied in 2023 as they look to beat last year’s away record.
The Tigers have scored 11 goals through five matches so far this year as Ida Hermannsdottir, Jazmin Ferguson, Angelina Thoreson, Ava Galligan, Andrea Iljkic, Amy Smith, Kelsey Major and Sage Glover have found themselves on the scoresheet.
That’s already eight different goal scorers for the Tigers while it’s still early in the season.
Glover recorded her first goal of the season and ninth in her career at LSU in the squad’s last match against Utah.
Galligan, Hermannsdottir and Ferguson lead the team with two goals each, while the rest have scored one.
The Tigers have recorded nine assists so far this year, with junior Sydney Cheesman leading the way. The UNC transfer has been pivotal in set pieces for LSU, recording a team high four assists through five matches. Her four assists on the year also shares the top spot for the most by a player in the conference.
Gabbi Ceballos and Caley Swierenga tallied their first assists on the year in the Tiger’s last match, while Sage Glover, Jaden Humbyrd and Galligan have also tallied assists this year.
Overall, LSU has taken 97 shots on the year, with 44 of those being on target. Galigan leads the way with 15 shots, while Mollie Baker follows with 14. Galligan, Hermannsdottir and Baker have each tested keepers with shots on goal on six different occasions, respectively.
Scheving, the sophomore from Iceland who is in her first year with the Tigers, has started in between the posts for the Tigers in every match thus far. She has recorded 11 saves and two shutouts.
Hermannsdottir, Ferguson, Cheesman, Baker, Thoreson, Humbyrd, Glover, Shannon, Scheving and Caley Swierenga have started in every match for LSU this year.
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.
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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