HATTIESBURG, Miss. — LSU soccer (3-0-2) heads to Mississippi to face the Southern Miss Golden Eagles (0-2) at the Southern Miss Soccer Complex at 1 pm CT.
The match will be available online on ESPN Plus. Links to the live stream and live stats can be found on lsusports.net.
Series History – Southern Miss
LSU holds a 4-0 lead in the history of the series between the two squads. The teams last met in the 2020-21 season, where the Tigers defeated the Golden Eagles by a score of 1-0 in Baton Rouge.
Hermannsdottir’s Hot Foot
Freshman Ida Hermannsdottir enters Sunday’s match as the team’s joint top goal scorer (3) and second on the assist chart (2). The midfielder recorded assists against Stephen F. Austin and UCF and secured the first goal of her collegiate career in a 4-1 win at San Diego.
On Friday night, Hermannsdottir scored the first brace of her collegiate career in a 3-1 win against Grambling State. Her first goal came in the 27th minute as she hit a first-time effort from 24 yards out that rocketed into the top of the net and beyond the goalkeeper. The second came in the 82nd minute as Hermannsdottir doubled her tally on the night and stretched LSU’s lead to 3-1. Baker cut inside to beat two defenders and sent a through ball into the box that found Hermannsdottir, who timed her run and shrugged off a defender and slotted the ball past the goalkeeper from five yards out.
The Icelandic international brings a wealth of experience to the LSU squad. She has represented her country on all levels of play, including two appearances for the senior international team.
Before joining the Tigers, Hermannsdottir played at the highest level of soccer in Iceland for Valur Reykjavik. At the club, she helped them claim the 2021 league title and made appearances in the UEFA Women’s Champions League, the most competitive club soccer competition in Europe.
The Baker Special
Mollie Baker, a redshirt-sophomore forward who transferred to LSU from North Carolina, has three goals and one assist through five games this season.
Baker found the back of the net in the season opener versus Stephen F. Austin by getting on the end of a ground-cross and placing the ball into the back of the net from five yards out.
The following game versus UCF, the Tigers trailed the Knights 1-0 in the match until Baker received the ball just under a minute into the second half and nutmegged a defender and slotted a 16-yard shot past the goalkeeper and into the bottom left corner to make it 1-1 on the day.
In Friday’s match against Grambling, the sophomore grabbed LSU’s first goal of the match in the 24th minute. Baker was on the receiving end of an inch-perfect through ball from Laney Gonzales and took a touch before slotting the ball into the bottom-left corner.
Baker again contributed to the scoresheet later in the match, this time with an assist, as her through ball into the box was met and converted into a goal by Ida Hermannsdottir.
Thoreson Assists
Angelina Thoreson leads the team in assists with three. The freshman continues to be a proven weapon on both sides of the ball and continues to create scoring opportunities for the squad.
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 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.
Top Scorers
Sage Glover, Mollie Baker, and Ida Hermannsdottir are all even as the team’s leading scorers with three goals each.
Glover’s goals came in the team’s matchups against Stephen F. Austin, Pepperdine, and San Diego. She was named SEC Freshman of the Week on August 29 after her performances in California.
Baker’s goal scoring career also began in the season opener against Stephen F. Austin, when she found the back of the net as she tapped it in from four yards out in a ground-pass from Thoreson. Her second goal came in a crucial moment against UCF to equalize the game. The sophomore tallied her third career goal in Friday night’s matchup against Grambling for the second goal of the game.
Ida Hermmansdottir found her first collegiate goal at San Diego and has been hot ever since. In California, Hermannsdottir put the Tigers on the board with the first goal of the match in the 33rd minute. The freshman tallied her second and third career goals in the 27th and 82nd minutes against Grambling to earn the first brace of her collegiate career.
The Captains
LSU is captained by the defensive duo of fifth-year seniors Shannon Cooke and Lindsay Jennings. The return of Cooke and Jennings brings a wealth of defensive experience to the lineup as the two prepare for their final season in collegiate soccer.
Cooke has been a mainstay in the LSU squad since arriving on campus in 2018 and enters the season with 73 appearances for the Tigers, including 65 starts during that time. The senior started at center back for all 18 appearances in the 2021 season.
Jennings enters her second season in Purple & Gold after spending the first three years of her collegiate career at Northern Colorado, where she made 51 appearances and received All-Big Sky honors all three years of playing. She’ll look to build on a successful first year as a Tiger, where she appeared in all 20 matches and started in 12 of those.
Follow Us
.