BATON ROUGE—LSU scored five goals in the second half to turn a scoreless halftime score into an LSU 5-0 win over Northwestern State on Sunday evening at the LSU Soccer Stadium.
NSU (0-2) fell in its second straight game against an SEC foe after losing in the opener at Oklahoma, while LSU (1-1) rebounded from a season-opening defeat at Wake Forest.
"We played fantastic soccer in the first half," head coach
Ian Brophy said. "I thought we were great and really went toe-to-toe with one of the better teams in the country. We created good scoring chances and some dangerous attacks. And we were resolute defensively and didn't give them many clean looks or good opportunities and felt like we were really controlled and composed.
"I was really pleased with the first half performance, and then I think the second half performance, we just kind of shot ourselves in the foot a little bit. But again, I thought for large parts of the second half, we also played really well and hung with them and created a few scoring chances again. So, I think there were a lot of positives to take away."
An approximately 75-minute rain delay gave way to a scoreless first half before the Tigers came out hot in the second, as they found the scoreboard in the 52
nd minute following a free kick.
The free kick bounced to Ava Galligan, who scored in the right side of the net past a diving
Saki Tsuchiya.
It was the first goal of three in a span of 3:09, as the other two found the back of the net just 31 seconds apart.
Following a foul just inside the top of the box, Allie Fryer scored on a penalty kick, the second against the Demons in two games.
Just 31 seconds later, the Tigers found the back of the net again after a perfect cross from Brielyn Knowles. Linka Ono was on the receiving end, and she blasted a header into the left side of the net to make it 3-0.
LSU scored two in the final 10 minutes, one each from Ryann Denecour and Mia Conard, to round out the scoring.
In the first half, Tsuchiya made three saves, two of which were of the sensational variety. Her first came after a free kick from LSU, as Galligan tried to deflect one in off the side of her foot, but Tsuchiya made a diving stop to her left to tip the ball wide.
Perhaps her most impressive save came in the 40th minute, as Denecour dribbled past the NSU defense and passed it in the middle of the box to Senai Rogers, but the Demons goalkeeper denied her.
"Saki had an unbelievable first half," Brophy said. I think the one that sticks out to me. It was a corner kick, and I think she was on the ground and made a second effort to get up and save it. That was an unreal save. Saki was great throughout the night and was a big reason why we kept a clean sheet in that first half."
Overall, Tsuchiya made four saves after recording seven in the opener at Oklahoma.
NSU had the game's first chance, as
Paige Baumgartner dribbled in and attempted the first shot of the game, but late pressure forced the shot to roll wide left of the net, one of three shot attempts for the Demons in the game.
Even in defeat, Brophy is pleased about the improvement from the opening game to this one.
"There's no question that this is a huge improvement from the first game, and I think that's what we can really focus on is that we did take some massive steps, and I thought today was a good step forward," he said. "I think for 60 minutes of the game, we were really good, and then I think for 30 minutes we just lost it. I think I think if we can increase that consistency and continue this trend, that's going to serve us really well in the games ahead."
NSU continues its difficult stretch of road games to begin the season with a trip to Houston on Thursday before finishing the weekend with a visit to UL Lafayette on Aug. 23. The first time NSU plays at home is a game with in-state foe Louisiana Tech on Sept. 6.
