[su_spacer size=”20″] A late two-goal rally by LSU proved to be the deciding factor in a high-scoring 4-3 defeat of the Georgia soccer team by the Tigers (6-1-2, 1-1) on Thursday night at the LSU Soccer Stadium.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Three first-half goals from Becca Rasmussen, Bella Hartley and Kelsey Killean highlighted the game for Georgia (1-6-1, 0-2), but the Bulldogs weren’t able to find a fourth goal late in the game to push the match to extra minutes.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Head coach Billy Lesesne was happy with his team’s first-half performance, but was looking for more in the final 45 minutes.
[su_spacer size=”40″] “I thought in the first-half we played very well,” Lesesne said. “We followed our plan and attacked wide and scored three goals off of it. We had a 3-1 lead at one point and they willed their way back into it in the second-half. They were certainly the more dominant team in the second-half. They were more aggressive and ended up cutting into that lead and eventually got the winner late in the match. We couldn’t bounce back from that. We need to really focus on finishing a match.”
[su_spacer size=”40″] The Tigers were first to strike in the sixth minute after a short scuffle for the ball, LSU forward Summer Clark retained possession and fired a shot above Louise Hogrell. The next twenty minutes saw back and forth action, but neither team could put together a serious run.
[su_spacer size=”40″] In the 13’ minute Georgia’s offense came to life scoring two goals in a span of 22 seconds. The first, a goal by Becca Rasmussen, came after Mariel Gutierrez played a perfect cross to Andie Fontanetta right in front of the goal and the senior found Rasmussen to score the first goal of her career. The second, a goal score by Bella Hartley on a penalty kick, followed a foul called on LSU at the top of the box. Hartley scored her second goal of the season and has now scored on a penalty kick in back-to-back games.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Kelsey Killean and Lauren Tanner entered the match in the 30’ and made an instant impact. Tanner came in and her first move was to take the ball down the far right corner and fire a cross back towards the center of the field. Her pass rolled through several defenders and found her teammate, Killean, who buried it into the back of the net to put the Bulldogs up 3-1.
[su_spacer size=”40″] A goal by Debbie Hahn in the 36’ got the Tigers back within reach at 3-2 to head to the locker rooms at halftime.
[su_spacer size=”40″] The second-half started slow for both teams, but the Tigers were the first to strike, scoring in the 69’ after Georgia was called for a foul outside of the box near the top right half. Natalia Gomez-Junco curved the free kick around the entire Bulldog defense scoring the equalizer. Gomez-Junco scored again in the 78’. The Tiger mid-fielder found the ball out front of the Bulldog’s goal after a struggle in the middle of the box and poked it just past the outstretched arms of Hogrell.
[su_spacer size=”40″] The Tigers outshot the Bulldogs 20-7. Georgia and LSU tied the corner kick mark 3-3. Goalkeeper Louise Hogrell finished the match with seven saves.
[su_spacer size=”40″] The Bulldogs have the weekend off, before returning to action next weekend to take on Arkansas at home on Sept. 25 at 7 p.m. ET. Georgia rounds out the weekend with another home match facing Texas A&M on Sunday, Sept. 27 at 1 p.m. ET. The match against the Aggies will be show on ESPNU.
[su_spacer size=”60″]