BATON ROUGE — LSU Soccer (8-3-5, 3-2-3 SEC) is hosting the Auburn Tigers (6-5-5, 2-5-1 SEC) on Sunday, October 23 at 1 pm CT at the LSU Soccer Stadium ..
The match will be available via livestream on SEC Network Plus. Links to watch and live stats for the match can be found on lsusports.net.
Promotions
Raising Cane’s will be giving away puppy merchandise to fans who bring their dogs to the pitch on Sunday. In addition, there will be a dog costume contest in which three winners will receive a Cane’s prize package.
As always, come for the two-dollar hotdogs, stay for the soccer.
Series History – Auburn
LSU holds a 8-20-3 series record against Auburn. The last time the two Tigers met was in 2021, when the two teams battled it out in overtime, but Auburn ultimately found the 1-0 win in overtime at home.
Last Time On The Pitch
LSU earned a point on the road against No. 9 Arkansas after battling to a 0-0 draw in Fayetteville on Thursday night.
Senior goalkeeper Mollee Swift had a great performance for the Tigers, recording eight saves on the night for a clean sheet. Freshman Raelynn Prince recorded the only shot on goal for LSU in the 46th minute.
The first half saw a battle between the Tigers and the Hogs. Forward Mollie Baker saw the first scoring opportunity of the match in the fifth minute, but the shot took a wide left. Arkansas forward Jessica De Filippo took the first shot on goal of the match in the 25th minute that was saved by LSU goalkeeper Mollee Swift for her first save of the night. Swift recorded two more saves in the 33rd and 43rd minutes to keep the match scoreless at the half.
The second half saw more opportunities on the goal. Midfielder Raelyn Prince took the first shot on goal for the Tigers in the 78th minute, but it was saved by Arkansas goalkeeper Grace Barbara for her only save of the night. Forward Mollie Baker took two last minute chances on goal with shots in the 83rd and 85th minutes.
Arkansas took 12 shots in the second half, but neither team could find the advantage and the Tigers shut out the Razorbacks for only the second time this season.
Swift tallied five saves in the second half in the 50th, 52nd, 57th, 66th, and 80th minutes to finish with eight saves and a clean sheet on the night.
The possession battle was led by Arkansas 54% compared to LSU’s 46%. The Razorbacks took 21 shots in the match, while the Tigers took five.
Top Scoring Tigers
Freshman Ida Hermannsdottir and fifth-year senior Alesia Garcia have led the way in goals for the Tigers this season. Hermannsdottir currently leads the team with six goals while Garcia follows with five.
Hermmansdottir scored her first collegiate goal in the 33rd minute against San Diego to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead against the Toreros. She scored her second and third career goals in the 27th and 82nd minutes against Grambling to earn the first brace of her collegiate career. This marked back-to-back games where the freshman found the back of the net.
The forward continued her hot streak and tallied the fourth goal of her career at No. 6 Rutgers, when she intercepted a ball in the final third and hit a right-footed effort that beat the Scarlet Knights’ goalkeeper and landed in the bottom left corner.
Goal number five came in her SEC debut against Vanderbilt as she hit a free kick from 25 yards out that was powerful enough to beat the diving goalkeeper and land in the bottom-left corner. The goal was the game winner for LSU, who won 2-1 on the day.
Hermannsdottir’s sixth and most recent goal came at Texas A&M, when she charged into the box before being upended by an Aggie defender and the referee pointed to the penalty spot. Not short on confidence, Hermannsdottir stepped up and calmly placed the ball on the left side of the goal to tie the match 2-2 in College Station.
Forward Alesia Garcia has also been a leader in the offense, recording five goals for the Tigers. Garcia opened her scoring on the season in California. The forward tallied her first goal against Pepperdine in the 54th minute. The Waves goalkeeper was unable to control the ball on a deflected shot from Jordan Johnson and Garcia seized the opportunity. She pounced on the loose ball and placed it in the back of the net. The goal was the first of the season for Garcia and the 26th of her collegiate career.
Her second goal came against the San Diego Toreros to mark the second straight game she found the back of the net for the Tigers. Garcia capped the night off in fashion for the Tigers as she scored the fourth goal of the match in the 87th minute to secure the road win.
The Colorado native continued her scoring at Southern Miss in the 52nd minute for the Tigers as she sent a rocket into the top-right corner from 19 yards out to take the 1-0 lead in the match.
Her fourth finish against No. 6 Rutgers came on a rebound goal after the Scarlet Knights goalkeeper loosely deflected a shot from Thoreson. The goal from Garcia took the early 1-0 lead for the Tigers in New Jersey.
Garcia’s fifth goal of the season and first in conference play came against Mississippi State. Defender Rammie Noel broke away down the left flank and sent a cross to the back post and found Garcia, who was unmarked and calmly headed the ball home. The goal was a strong response from the Tigers and tied the match in Starkville 1-1.
Youth On The Pitch
After scoring three each in non-conference play, Mollie Baker and Sage Glover both found the back of the net in SEC play for the first time in their collegiate careers in the Tigers’ win over the Kentucky Wildcats on Sunday, October 2. The forwards both narrowly trail the top scorers with four each on the year.
Glover gave LSU a 2-1 lead in the match as she finished off a fantastic team sequence with a 10-yard goal that landed in the right corner. Baker’s goal came in the 58th minute when the match was tied at 2-2. The freshman tracked a cleared ball to midfield and capitalized on a mistake in defense to break away with pace and beat the goalkeeper one-on-one.
Baker and Glover are tied as the second leading goal scorers with four each. Of LSU’s 31 goals scored this season, 12 have come from true freshmen (38.7%) while another 12 goals have come from 5th year seniors/graduate students.
The Tigers have 13 goal scorers and have shown strong depth in the scoring department by scoring two or more goals in every match but one this season (1-1 draw vs. UCF).
Terrific Thoreson
Angelina Thoreson leads the team in assists with six. The freshman continues to be a proven weapon on both sides of the ball and continues to create scoring opportunities for the Tigers.
Thoreson recorded her first career assist in the season opener against Stephen F. Austin, where she sent in a ground pass inside the box that found Baker for the finish.
Her second assist came on the road at San Diego on a strong and accurate ground cross from the right side of the box that found Glover, who slotted it past the goalkeeper and extended the Tiger lead to 3-1.
Thoreson tallied assists no. 3 in Friday’s match against Grambling. Thoreson controlled the ball on the edge of the box and laid off a simple pass to Hermannsdottir, who came charging from midfield and smashed the goal from 24 yards out.
The forward scored the first collegiate goal of her career at LSU in the squad’s matchup against Princeton on September 8. Thoreson took the early lead for the Purple & Gold in the 14th minute as she slotted a ball from 15 yards out into the bottom-left. corner.
Thoreson tallied her fourth assist in the Tigers’ faceoff with No. 6 Rutgers and took a shot on goal, which fell loose off the goalie and found Garcia for the rebound finish.
Against Missouri, Thoreson tallied her fifth assist as she laid off a pass to Dobles, who hit a first-time cross into the box and found Prince, who took a volley touch that found the back of the net.
The freshman continued her tally of assists against Kentucky. Thoreson sent a ground cross on a first-time effort to find Sage Glover, who scored in the 34thth minute to give the Tigers the 2-1 lead against the Wildcats.
Thoreson increased her team-high total on the year to seven against Texas A&M after she took a touch on a through ball from Mollie Baker, drove into the box and sent a ground cross to the back post that found Noel, who tapped the ball in and gave LSU its first goal of the night in the 27th minutes.
The forward ranks sixth in the country for assists and 10th in the conference.
Top Drawer Soccer Top 100 Freshman
Freshmen Ida Hermannsdottir and Angelina Thoreson were named to Top Drawer Soccer’s Top 100 Freshman list earlier this week.
The list, announced by the organization, ranked the top 100 freshmen players in the country. Midfielder Ida Hermannsdottir ranked at No. 10 and forward Angelina Thoreson was ranked No. 38.
Hermannsdottir leads the LSU squad in goals scored with six in her first season with the Tigers. As a freshman, Hermannsdottir has earned the start in 12 out of the Tigers’ 15 matches and recorded six goals, two assists, 13 shots on goal and 19 points. She ranks ninth in the country in goals scored.
The Icelandic international has represented Iceland at senior, U19, and U17 levels and has made two senior appearances for the Iceland National Team. Prior to LSU, Hermannsdottir played professionally at Valur Reykjavik in Iceland, where she made 41 appearances for Valur Reykjavik and scored 10 goals. She helped claim the Iceland League Title and Rerykjavik Cup in 2021 and the Icelandic Women’s Super Cup in 2022.
Thoreson leads the Tigers with seven assists on the season. Along with a team-high seven assists, Thoreson has also recorded one goal, 10 shots on goal and nine points through 15 games. She started in 13 of those matches. The forward ranks sixth in the country for assists.
The Swedish native played the last three seasons (2019, 2020, 2021) for IK Uppsala, a professional club back in Sweden and made over 50 appearances for the club. Thoreson played the 2019 season in the Damallsvenskan division, which is the highest level of women’s soccer in Sweden. She scored five goals in 20 games played during the 2021 season.
SEC Standings
LSU sits in eighth place in the SEC with two matches remaining on the conference schedule. The top 10 teams in the league advance to the conference tournament which will take place from October 30 to November 6 in Pensacola, Fla.
The Tigers have earned 12 points in conference play this year and rank fourth in the SEC West division. The two division champions will serve as the top two seeds at the SEC Tournament, and the final eight teams are decided by points accumulated in conference play.
For a full list of standings, visit secsports.com.
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