FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The LSU Soccer Team (5-2-1) will open conference play against the No. 3 Arkansas Razorbacks on Thursday, September 19 at 6:30 p.m. CT on Razorback Field.
“We are incredibly excited to get the SEC season off to a start, and there’s no better opponent than Arkansas to do that. I have a huge amount of respect for Colby (Hale) and everything he’s done there. Year in and year out, he finds a way to get success. They are one of the most difficult teams to play against in the nation, but I think it’s a great matchup for us and it’s a game that we’ve had success in in recent years.” said head coach Sian Hudson.
“It’s going to be crucial that we win the 18-yard box tomorrow at both ends of the field. Our mindset as we head into SEC play is a clean slate. It’s going to be really important that we put our best foot forward tomorrow night, have a great response, and get our SEC season off to a good start.”
The competition between the Tigers and the Razorbacks will be streamed on SECN+. The watch link and live stats link can be found here.
The Opponent
Arkansas and LSU are meeting for the 32nd time and the 14th time at Razorback Field. LSU is 15-11-5 in the all-time series record against Arkansas. The last time the two programs met was in 2023, when they battled to a 1-1 draw in Baton Rouge.
Arkansas owns a record of 5-0-1 entering conference play, having gone unbeaten on the year so far and undefeated at home. The Razorbacks are ranked No. 3 in the nation by United Soccer Coaches. They’ve totaled 176 points through week five and currently sit at seventh in the conference.
The Razorbacks have scored 35 goals on the year, with 169 shots, 92 shots on goal and 40 assists. Kate Doyle leads the way with seven goals on the year.
Arkansas is unbeaten in 36 of the last 37 matches at Razorback Field, dating back to 2021.
As of Sept. 18, Arkansas leads the nation in eight offensive categories, most notably goals (35), assists (40) and points (110).
Tiger Notables
LSU enters SEC play with an overall record of 5-2-1. Not only will the Tigers meet their first conference opponent of the year, but the competition will also be their first ranked matchup of the year.
The Tigers have marked wins over South Alabama (W, 3-0), UMass Lowell (W, 3-0), Old Dominion (2-1), UL-Lafayette (3-1) and San Francisco (4-1), a draw against Utah (T, 1-1) and losses to Arizona State (L, 5-2) and UC Davis (L, 3-4).
LSU has scored 21 goals through eight matches so far this year as Ida Hermannsdottir, Mollie Baker, Jazmin Ferguson, Angelina Thoreson, Ava Galligan, Andrea Iljkic, Amy Smith, Kelsey Major, Sage Glover, Gabbi Ceballos and Danielle Shannon have found themselves on the scoresheet.
LSU has seen 11 different goal scorers through non-conference play so far, with four players scoring the firsts of their career.Ferguson, Ceballos , Iljkic and Shannon have all scored their first career goals at LSU this year.
Hermannsdottir leads the team with six goals on the year, while Ava Galligan follows with three.
The Tigers have recorded 11 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 on the year.
Overall, LSU has taken 152 shots on the year, with 70 of those being on target. Galigan leads the way with 25 shot attempts, while Baker, Hermannsdottir, Glover, Shannon and Smith have all tallied 10 or more shots on the year. Hermannsdottir leads the team with shots on target with 13.
Galligan, Hermannsdottir and Cheesman all rank amongst the top 10 players in the SEC in shots, goals and assists, respectively. Scheving’s eight saves also place in the top-10. Overall, LSU sits in the top-10 in the SEC in shots, goals and assists.
The Tigers have outshot their opponents in all but two matches, recording roughly 19 shots per game, compared to 8 from their opponents.
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 14 saves and two shutouts.
Hermannsdottir, Ferguson, Cheesman, Baker, Glover, Shannon, Scheving and Caley Swierenga are the only players to start in every match for LSU this year.
Last Time On The Pitch
The Tigers fell to UC Davis (7-2-0) in their non-conference finale by a final score of 4-3 last Sunday at the Aggie Soccer Stadium. It was a back-and-forth battle on the pitch in Davis that ultimately fell in favor of the Aggies in the last 10 minutes of play.
The Aggies found a breakthrough first in the match in the 13th minute, when midfielder Genavieve Fontes found the back of the net via a well-placed header past LSU’s Audi Scheving to make it 1-0. Sammie Ruelas provided the assist on the tally.
LSU took seven shots in the first half, including a shot on target from junior defender Jocelyn Ollivierre and two chances from sophomore forward Ava Galligan, but the visiting Tigers couldn’t find the right moment. The first half ended 1-0 in favor of the Aggies.
The Tigers responded almost immediately to start the second half, with senior forward Mollie Baker gettting the first goal of the day for LSU and her first of the year in the 51st minute. Defender Caley Swierenga took the ball up the field to find midfielder Danielle Shannon, who then got it to the feet of Baker for the finish at the top of the 18 yard box. Baker’s goal equalized the game at 1-1 and marked her eigth career goal.
In the 68th minute, Aggie midfielder Ashleigh Garcia fouled LSU’s Shannon at the top of the box, and the Tigers were given a free kick within shooting range. The free kick was given to forward Andrea Iljkic, who stepped up and made no mistake, lacing a curling shot into the left side of the net that gave the Aggie keeper no chance to save. The goal was Iljkic’s second of her career and her second goal from a direct free kick this season, with her first coming against Old Dominion.
It was a 2-1 Tiger lead with just over 20 minutes to play in Davis. Ten minutes later, UC Davis scored two goals in quick succession to reclaim the lead. Jayde Holley-Davis scored to make it 2-2, and Sam Tristian scored just two minutes after to make it 3-2 in favor of the Aggies.
LSU once again responded as Sage Glover found the 3-3 equalizer in 82nd minute via a pass from Shannon. However, UC Davis found the back of the net almost instantly after the LSU goal and reclaimed the lead once again, making it 4-3 in favor of the Aggies. Ashleigh Garcia provided the assist for the Aggies’ fourth goal.
The Tigers battled until the finish in Davis, outshooting the Aggies 13 to eight on the day with seven shots on target from Ollivierre, Galligan, Ceballos, Glover, Iljkic and Baker. Shannon recorded two assists on the day, her first of the season after recently scoring her first career goal in the squad’s last match against San Francisco.
LSU completed their non-conference slate in California with a record of 4-1-0 on the road, the program’s best away record since 2021, as the team heads into conference play.
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.
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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