Match #14: Louisiana State 4, Texas A&M 1
Records: Texas A&M (4-6-4, 1-5-1), Louisiana State (8-5-2, 3-2-2)
Box Score
Friday was a downer down on the banks of the Mississippi.
In a trip to Baton Rouge on Friday night, Texas A&M soccer stumbled with a 4-1 defeat at LSU.
For the Aggies, they are now 1-5-1 in SEC play with just three matches remaining.
The Maroon & White was in a 5-3-2 formation, while the Bayou Bengals were in a 3-4-3. With different shapes at work, A&M’s approach was to pay a little more attention to the lower half of the field and position the midfield with a more balanced mindset.
In contradiction, LSU employed a faster pace throughout the attack, which obviously paid off.
The game started with a quiet and slow five minutes, with no shots on goal from either team or any bookings.
In the sixth minute, forward Amy Smith tested A&M goalkeeper Maysen Veronda, only to be stopped by the Aggie.
Three minutes later, another shot attempt was taken by LSU, which called out for another Veronda save.
After the two attempts taken by the Tigers, A&M defender Lucy Landherr fell a few inches shy of the top of the net in the 20th minute.
In the 24th minute, LSU struck first with a shot into the top right of the goal from defender Jazmin Ferguson.
The game stopped in the 32nd for a right leg injury to A&M defender Mia Scranton, and the action resumed after a short pause.
Down a goal, Aggie forward Bailey Cate attempted a header in the box, only to be counted as a shot.
At the half, the Ags attack had six shots, while LSU had eight, with one goal and two more shots on target.
Start of the second half, A&M had a sense of urgency from the attack, playing a faster-paced offensive game and a tighter, man-on defense.
However, the mentality stayed the same for the Bayou Bengals.
Two minutes after the half, LSU scored again on Sariyah Bailey’s shot into the bottom right corner.
In the 51st minute, with a score of 2-0, Bailey attempted to widen the lead from a bottom left of the net shot, but in the correct area, Veronda saved the shot.
Twelve minutes late, Bailey found the net again to make it 3-0.
However, a minute and a half after the goal, the Maroon & White crushed any Tiger hopes of a clean sheet as midfielder Trinity Buchanan scored from in the 65th.
With the Ags putting a goal on the scoreboard, midfielder Leah Pirro tried to close the gap from her 78th-minute shot, but to no avail.
In the 81st, Daniella Hellin delivered a knock-out blow to put LSU up 4-1.
With another disappointing result, A&M still has much work to do.
Texas A&M will return to Ellis Field to play Missouri on Thursday, Oct. 16, at 7:30 p.m. CT.
