BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU Soccer team (9-5-2, 4-2-2 SEC) will face Kentucky (10-4-2, 4-2-2 SEC) for their second to last regular season match of the season on Sunday, October 19 at 1 p.m. CT inside the LSU Soccer Stadium.
Sunday’s match is Greek Day and Pups at the Pitch for LSU. All dogs are welcome to attend the match, as well as a free 2025 “Strike Gold” theme sweatshirt giveaway to the first 300 fans to arrive. Gates to the stadium will open at noon.
The battle between the Tigers and the Wildcats will be streamed on SEC Network+ with Garrett Walvoord and Sara Pollock Dickson calling the action in Baton Rouge. Live stats and streaming of the match can be found here.
The Matchup
LSU enters Sunday’s match with a 9-14-3 all-time series against Kentucky. The Tigers fell to the Wildcats last time they met in 2024 by a score of 2-1 in Lexington. They are 2-1-1 against Kentucky under head coach Sian Hudson, last beating the Wildcats in Baton Rouge in 2021.
Kentucky is coming fresh off a 3-2 upset over No. 8 South Carolina. With their win over the Gamecocks on Thursday night, Kentucky joined LSU as one of the teams to clinch its spot in the 2025 SEC Tournament. The Tigers and the Wildcats both enter tomorrow’s match with a conference record of 4-2-2 and 14 points in SEC play, sharing the sixth spot in the standings.
The Wildcats are seeking their first road victory of the season in Baton Rouge, playing only their fourth match of the campaign away from home. Kentucky is 0-1-2 in road matches this season, but is undefeated in its last two via 1-1 draws at Florida and at Ole Miss.
Kentucky is second in the conference in shots taken (263) and goals (36). They have drawn the most corners by any team in the league (140) through 16 games played, while also only allowing 14 goals on the year with six shutouts.
Last Time On The Pitch
LSU took down Ole Miss by a final score of 4-1 last Thursday night in the Ole Miss Soccer Stadium. It was their first win in Oxford since 2012.
With the win, the Tigers moved their unbeaten streak to five matches for the first time since 2013, as well as recording their second straight game with four or more goals, a feat they last accomplished in 2021 (a 5-2 win over No. 21 Arizona State on Sept. 5 and a 5-0 victory over UL-Lafayette on Sept. 9).
LSU came out hot to open the match in Oxford, quickly tallying a shot by junior defender Kelsey Major in the opening two minutes. Junior goalkeeper Audur Scheving was first tested in the 21st minute and again in the 29th minute.
The Tigers struck first in the 32nd minute after veteran defender Kelsey Major earned a corner kick for LSU. Senior forward Ida Hermannsdottir sent a perfect ball into the box that found the head of junior Gabbi Ceballos, who perfectly whipped it just over the Ole Miss keeper to give LSU a 1-0 lead. The goal was Ceballos’s second of the year and fourth of her career.
Just two minutes later, Hermannsdottir made another impact off a set piece, this time finding the head of sophomore forward Amy Smith off a corner to give the Tigers the two-goal advantage on the night. It was the first goal of the year for Smith and second assist of the night for Hermannsdottir, moving her total to five on the year.
LSU held Ole Miss to only two shots in the first half to maintain a 2-0 lead after the first 45 minutes in Oxford.
In the second period, the Rebels threatened early with two shots on target in the first 15 minutes, but Scheving was able to handle both attempts. Offensively, LSU was stifled on two attempts in the half. However, in the 65th minute, junior forward Ava Galligan received the ball on the right wing and dribbled to the goal line for a cut-back pass to Hermannsdottir, who would slot it into the bottom right of the net to bolster LSU’s lead to 3-0.
Hermannsdottir tallied a goal of her own after providing the assists for LSU’s first two goals on the night. She now owns five goals this year and 25 in her career. Galligan’s assist on the goal was her second of the year.
While holding a three-goal advantage, a foul in LSU’s box awarded Ole Miss a goal from the penalty spot to alter the scoreline to 3-1. The Rebels continued to gain momentum, but the Tiger defense held firm with two saves in the final 25 minutes.
With the game winding down, LSU kept their foot on the gas. In the 88th minute, freshman Gadea Blanco Gonzalez dribbled down the right-hand side to drop a square ball to Smith in the penalty area to slot one past the goalie, earning her second goal of the night and the first brace of her career, while Blanco Gonzalez tallied her first career assist at LSU.
The match finished 4-1 in favor of the visiting team. LSU outshot Ole Miss 16-10 on the night as well as winning the possession battle 59%-41%.
Season Stats
LSU is on a 4-0-1 unbeaten streak in SEC play as they continue to move up the conference standings. The Tigers jumped to six in the rankings with 14 points after their win over Ole Miss. The Tigers have now accomplished a five-match unbeaten streak for the first time since 2013.
LSU has increased their win record to nine this year after taking down Ole Miss. The squad previously took down Texas A&M on their home pitch and are 5-1 whilst playing in Baton Rouge this year.
Throughout the 2025 season, the Tigers have also recorded wins over South Alabama, FGCU, UC Davis, Utah, Missouri, Auburn, Texas A&M, Ole Miss and a top-25 victory over No. 21 Wisconsin. Their win over the Badgers was the program’s first ranked victory at home since 2021.
The Tigers are gaining momentum at the right time just ahead of postseason play. The Purple & Gold squad is currently receiving votes in the most recent United Soccer Coaches Poll, recognizing them as one of the key contenders to keep an eye on across the nation.
LSU sits in the top-10 in the league in shots and goals for the eighth straight week. They are currently sixth in goals (32) and eighth in shots (215), while also placing in the top-10 in assists (sixth – 26), points (seventh – 90), saves (eighth – 49) and shutouts (eighth – 5).
Junior forward Ava Galligan is the Tigers leading scorer with six on the year thus far. Galligan scored the game winner in LSU’s match against No. 21 Wisconsin to secure the win over the nationally ranked Badgers and gave the Tigers the go-ahead goal over Auburn to help secure the win. Galligan also leads the Tigers in shots taken this year with 36. She’s appeared in all 16 matches for LSU thus far, earning the start in 12 of those.
Senior Ida Hermannsdottir and freshman Sariyah Bailey follow Galigan with five goals each this year. Hermannsdottir, the second-highest active player in the conference with the most career goals (24), has played and started in all 16 matches this year, generating 26 shots and five assists for the LSU offense.
Bailey has been pivotal on the attack for LSU in her debut season, also tallying five assists and 29 assists for the Tigers on the pitch.
Both Hermannsdottir and Bailey lead the way for the squad in assists with five, placing them amongst the top-10 in the SEC.
Graduate student Morgan Witz owns three goals herself in her first and final season at LSU. Other goal scorers on the year for LSU include Jazmin Ferguson and Gabbi Ceballos with two and Kelsey Major, Senai Rogers and Ryann Denecour, all with one.
Graduate transfer Makenna Dominguez is another Tiger who has made her presence known on the pitch, tallying three assists to help create offensive moments for her team this year. The midfielder is currently away with the El Salvador Women’s National Team and will return prior to SEC Tournament action.
LSU goalkeepers Sophine Kevorkian and Audi Scheving have both split time in between the posts for LSU this year, both finding their own success. Kevorkian has appeared in nine matches for the Tigers this year, last starting against Missouri, and owns a 1.15 goals-against average (GAA), 25 saves and three shutouts.
Scheving has earned the start for LSU in their last three matches against No. 17 Georgia, Texas A&M and Ole Miss. She owns 23 saves, two clean sheets and a GAAVG of 0.96 this year.
The LSU defense of Jocelyn Ollivierre, Jazmin Ferguson, Sydney Cheesman and Kelsey Major have held it down during the last stretch of SEC play for the Tigers, only allowing four goals in the Tigers last five games.
There are multiple Tigers to break the 1,000 minute mark on the pitch this year, including Ferguson, who leads the way in minutes for LSU with 1,408, as well as Hermannsdottir, Ceballos, Cheesman, Ollivierre, Major and Galligan.
Ferguson, Hermannsdottir, Ollivierre and Major are the only Tigers to earn the start in all 16 matches for LSU thus far.
Next Up
After Kentucky, the Tigers will host Florida in their regular season finale and senior night on Sunday, October 26 at 2 p.m. CT on SEC Network+.
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