BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU soccer dropped a 3-2 decision to Florida Gulf Coast on Sunday afternoon at LSU Soccer Stadium. The Tigers fall to 1-3-0 on the season, while the Eagles improve to 2-1-1.
Senior Ava Galligan got the Tigers on the board early with a goal in the second minute. The forward received a cross into the box from Ryann Denecour and slotted it past the Eagle goalkeeper into the top right corner of the net to give the Tigers an early lead. FGCU answered in the 19th minute when Kaitlin Gabelman scored to level the match before Ava Russell gave the Eagles a 2-1 advantage in the 38th minute.
FGCU extended its lead in the 84th minute when Sarah Greiner converted a penalty kick. LSU responded just 93 seconds later as freshman Alexia Hansen scored her first goal of the season off an assist from Kelsey Major and Audur Scheving. The Tigers were unable to find a third goal in the closing minutes, however, as the Eagles held on for the 3-2 victory.
The Tigers continued to pressure in the second half, outshooting FGCU 11-9 after halftime and finishing the match with a 16-16 edge in total shots. LSU also held a 6-3 advantage in corner kicks and controlled 54 percent of possession.
Galligan led the Tigers with three shots and scored her second goal of the season, while Hansen recorded three shots on target and added her first career goal for LSU. Denecour finished with two shots and an assist, while goalkeeper Audur Scheving made four saves in the second half.
LSU will look to bounce back in its next match after opening the season with a 5-0 win over Northwestern State before consecutive one-goal losses to UCF and FGCU.
The Tigers look to bounce back and earn a win during their road trip to Arizona later this week. The trip starts with a match against Arizona on Thursday, August 27 at 9:00 p.m. CT.
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