After a nearly five-hour affair at the Auburn Soccer Complex on Thursday night, Auburn women’s soccer (5-3-3, 1-1-2 SEC) came up short against LSU (6-5-1, 1-2-1 SEC), falling 3-1 to the Bayou Bengals.
The victory marks LSU’s first at Auburn since 2009, and its first regular-season win over the Tigers since 2010. LSU also cashed in its first goal against Auburn in a regular-season match since Oct. 20, 2016, when Auburn defeated LSU 2-1 in Baton Rouge, La.
Auburn controlled a vast majority of the first half, holding LSU to just two shots and one shot on goal in the opening period, including zero shots on goal in the first 40 minutes. On the other hand, Auburn dominated the time of possession, tallying a total of 11 shots and two shots on goal. James Armstrong’s Tigers held strong in the middle of the field and had numerous great looks early in the match, but failed to capitalize.
LSU made history in the 40th minute when senior defender Sydney Cheesman fired a missile from roughly 20 yards out with her right foot into the top left corner of the net above the outstretched arms of Auburn goalkeeper Ayana Yapo. The goal marks Cheesman’s second career goal, boosting the road Tigers to a 1-0 lead.
Following the break, Auburn’s Erin Flurey lined the equalizer straight into the right corner of the net, tying the match at 1-1 in the 53rd minute. In a play that looked oddly similar to Cheesman’s goal in the first half, Flurey claimed her eighth goal of the season, extending her margin as Auburn’s leading scorer even further – the next best, Olivia Woodson, boasts four goals.
The two-hour weather delay hit with 19:13 remaining in regulation, but not before Ava Galligan scored LSU’s second go-ahead goal of the game in the 68th minute with a looping, floating header over a leaping Yapo. The goal stands as Galligan’s sixth of the season, and gave LSU a 2-1 lead.
Following the delay, LSU came out firing, extending its advantage to 3-1 on a goal by Sariyah Bailey in the 78th minute. A lofty pass and shifty move drew Yapo out of the goal, who tried to make a play on the ball, but Bailey managed to finish the sequence and secure the Tigers’ first win on The Plains in 16 years.
Auburn ended the match with 22 total shots and seven shots on goal, while LSU recorded just six shots throughout the entire 90 minutes, but the Bayou Bengals’ efficiency and ability to capitalize lifted them to the victory.
Looking ahead, Auburn takes a road trip to take on the No. 13 Vanderbilt Commodores next Thursday, Oct. 2. The matchup will be the Tigers’ first of three consecutive games against ranked opponents, with No. 12 South Carolina and No. 25 Alabama awaiting Auburn after its trip to Nashville.
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Gunner is a freshman majoring in journalism. He started with The Plainsman in the fall 2024.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @norene_gunner10
