FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The LSU Soccer Team (5-3-1, 0-1-0 SEC) dropped its SEC opening match to No. 3 Arkansas (6-0-1, 1-0,-0 SEC) by a score of 1-0 on Thursday night on Razorback Field.
The lone goal of the night came in the 71st minute when Bella Field scored from eight yards out. Lily Boydstun played a long through ball to the right side of the box, where Ava Tankersley sent a ground cross to Field that rolled into the back of the net.
“We are disappointed to come away without a point from tonight’s game. There were moments that I thought we were the better team,” said head coach Sian Hudson. “We had three or four good chances and high effort levels from our team across the board. To come to Arkansas and keep them down to one goal was massive for our defense. Now, we look forward to coming home and hosting Ole Miss on Sunday.”
The match opened with neither side able to create chances in their attacking half. The first chance of the night came in the 21st minute when Avery Wren sent a powerful shot on goal from 15 yards out that was parried away by a diving Audur Scheving.
Scheving picked up three more saves before the half ended in the 35th, 41st and 44th minutes to help keep the Razorbacks goalless at the half. The Tigers had one shot on frame in the first half; a shot in the 43rd minute by forward Amy Smith that was saved by Arkansas goalkeeper Keegan Smith.
The second half opened the same as the first with neither team able to create quality chances to start it. Defender Sydney Cheeseman had a sail off target in the 54th minute and midfielder Ava Galligan had a shot in the attack third blocked in the 59th minute.
The breakthrough came for the hosts in the 71st minute. Boydstun pinged a long ball to the right wing that found Tankersley. Tanskersley sent a ball into the box and found Field, who had space and took one touch before slotting the ball into the bottom left corner.
LSU chased for an equalizer in the final 19 minutes of the match. Keegan Smith was called into action in the 77th minute as she saved a shot on goal from Smith before the Arkansas goalkeeper once again denied the LSU attacker in the 86th minute. Those two shots on goal were the last two chances of the night from the Tigers, who could not find the tying goal they were looking for.
The Razorbacks outshot the Tigers by a margin of 12-9, with Arkansas having six shots on goal against LSU’s three. Scheving finished the night with five saves, taking her season total to 21.
“Huge shoutout to Audi (Scheving) in goal tonight,” Hudson added. “I thought she was fantastic for us with some really big saves that kept us in the game. Tori Gillis also had a big performance after coming into the starting 11.”
LSU will look to bounce back when the Tigers return to the LSU Soccer Stadium to host the Ole Miss Rebels at 6 p.m. CT on Sunday, September 22nd. The match will be available via livestream on SEC Network+. Live stats and more information will be available on lsusports.net.
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