Sullivan’s Two Goals Not Enough As Soccer Falls 3-2 To LSU In 2OT
BATON
ROUGE, La. – Elisabeth Sullivan scored two goals in the first 15
minutes Sunday afternoon in Baton Rouge as the Mississippi State soccer
team fell 3-2 to LSU in double overtime. After State was
unable to convert a corner kick to open the second stanza of extra
time, Emma Fletcher found Megan Lee for the winner inside the right
post in the 103rd minute. State fell to 3-7 overall, 0-3 in the SEC, while the Tigers improved to 6-3-2 on the year, 2-0-1 in league play. “After
a really disappointing night in College Station on Friday, it would
have been easy to feel sorry for ourselves. I thought our attitude
today was great, and we put in a much better performance,” head coach
Aaron Gordon said. “I challenged our team to go out and put in the best
performance they could, and they did that. We came out with two early
goals, but unfortunately they came back and scored two late in the
first half. “We regrouped in the second half and came out
with the same mentality we started the game with. We created some
chances on the break, and I thought we did a good job defending them,”
Gordon said. “Although we wanted to get the win, we can leave Baton
Rouge feeling better about ourselves. We came out to compete today, and
that’s what we have to do every time we step out on the field.” Sullivan
notched her 10th and 11th goals of the year, while adding to her school
record with the seventh multiple-goal game of her career. “We
caught them on the break early, and Elisabeth scored a great goal. Then
she did a nice job putting away the penalty kick,” Gordon said of
Sullivan’s effort. “All day she found pockets of space around
defenders. She wasn’t at full strength, but she really gutted it out
and was dangerous for us today. I thought she was a threat all day.
Shannen Jainudeen came in and played Annebel’s (ten Broeke) role for
the first time, and I thought she did a great job for us today.” The
Memphis native put the Bulldogs up 1-0 four minutes in as she took a
Shelby Jordan pass and scored to the left post from the top of the LSU
area. Just over three minutes later, Sullivan put Mississippi State in front 2-0 as she deposited a penalty kick. State
was unable to hold the lead, however, as Summer Clarke scored from
eight yards out in the 11th minute and Nina Anderson hit a shot to the
far panel with three minutes left in the opening half. The
match went to half tied despite both squads nearly converting a third
goal of the half. In the 22nd minute, Sullivan had a 30-yard shot
bounce off the crossbar. Seventeen minutes later, Fletcher’s free kick
from 22-yards deflected off the left post. After being
out-shot 12-4 in the opening half, the Bulldogs were the more assertive
side in the final 45-minute period, taking a 9-4 shots advantage. Each
team claimed seven on-goal chances in the contest. A pair of those came early in the second half off Sullivan’s foot, but both were turned away by LSU goalie Megan Kinneman. The
first came early in the 74th minute when Sullivan beat the defense down
the left side. She tried to hit one to the far corner, but Kinneman
made a diving save to tip it away. Minutes later she found
herself battling with an LSU defender on the sprint toward goal.
Sullivan tried to punch it past Kinneman, but sent the shot inches wide
of the left post. Kinneman finished the contest with five
saves, while Bulldog freshman Meara Johnson claimed four saves in the
first SEC start of her career. After a scoreless first
overtime period, the Bulldogs just missed converting a corner kick to
open the final extra session. The Tigers answered, with Fletcher
finding Lee in the Bulldog area for the turn and the winner inside the
right post. Mississippi State returns home Friday, hosting
No. 25 Kentucky in a 7 p.m. kickoff at the MSU Soccer Field. The Dawgs
return to the road Sunday, heading to Arkansas for a 1 p.m. contest. Mississippi State (3-7-0, 0-3-0 SEC) vs. LSU (6-3-2, 2-0-1 SEC) Date: Sep 29, 2013 Attendance: 512 Weather: Goals by period 1 2 OT O2 Tot ------------------------------------- Mississippi State... 2 0 0 0 - 2 LSU................. 2 0 0 1 - 3 SCORING SUMMARY: 1. 3:58 MSU Elisabeth Sullivan (10) (Shelby Jordan) - Shot from near top of area inside left post. 2. 7:16 MSU Elisabeth Sullivan (11) Penalty kick 3. 10:37 LSU Clarke, Summer (3) (Lee, Megan) - Shot from 8 yards on give-and-go with #13. 4. 41:38 LSU Anderson, Nina (1) (Clarke, Summer) - Shot from left side of box on pass from #4. 5. 102:05 LSU Lee, Megan (1) (Fletcher, Emma) - Shot from top of box slotted inside right post. Shots: Mississippi State 13, LSU 20 Saves: Mississippi State 4 (Meara Johnson 4), LSU 5 (Kinneman, Megan 5)
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