Forward Molly Thompson’s hat trick with goals in the 16th, 21st, and 51st minutes sparked LSU’s 7th-ranked soccer team to a school-record 10th straight win in a 5-0 victory at UL-Lafayette Thursday night.
Tigers’ goalkeepers Mollee Swift and Jade Odom played the entire half and second half respectively, splitting LSU’s fourth shutout.
“Obviously, it’s a huge amount of momentum at the moment to be 7-0 and start the season with a school record,” LSU soccer coach Sian Hudson said.
Forward Tinaya Alexander and midfielder Meghan Johnson each scored a goal in the 41st and 81st minute respectively.
LSU outshot UL-Lafeyette by a margin of 20-10, with the Tigers registering 12 shots on target compared to the Ragin Cajuns’ five.
The win completed a five-game road swing for the Tigers (7-0) who won at USF, UCF, Arizona, Arizona State and UL-Lafayette by a combined score of 16-3.
Thompson’s big offensive night when she headed from eight yards out a cross from midfielder Rammie Noel in the 16th minute. Five minutes later, Thompson latched on the end of a long ball and drove into the edge of the box, then cut inside on her right foot and ripped a shot into the right corner from 17 yards out to give LSU a 2-0 lead in the match.
“One of the amazing things about our team is that we have many people that can produce on the field,” Thompson said. “That wasn’t even our best game today but to get a result and clean sheet is a testament to how good of a team we have.”
Just before halftime in the 41st minute, Alexander scored her team-high sixth goal of the season by carrying the ball from midfield, dashing by a defender, bursting into the box and rocketed her finish into the top left corner of the net.
Thompson got her hat trick in in the 51st minute, taking a pass from Alexander and firing it into the bottom left corner of the goal. LSU capped off the night in the 81st minute with midfielder Tiana Caffey assisting Johnson on her first goal of the season and fourth of her collegiate career.
“I think she showed her capabilities,” Hudson said of Thompson. “She had three different goals and a quality hat trick.”
With the non-conference portion of the schedule complete, LSU opens 10-game SEC schedule next Friday hosting Mississippi State in a 7 p.m. match at the LSU Soccer Field.
The Tigers have not beaten the Bulldogs at home in Baton Rouge since a 1-0 win in 2015. The 2019 and 2017 matches in LSU’s home were a pair of 2-2 ties.
State won last season’s match in Starkville, 2-1.
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