The Preview: LSU Tigers Soccer Opens SEC Play Against No. 13 Vanderbilt on Friday

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The LSU Soccer team (5-3-0) will meet their second ranked opponent of the year on Friday, September 13 as they open conference play against No. 13 Vanderbilt (6-1-0) at 7 p.m. CT inside Vanderbilt Soccer Complex.

The Matchup

LSU is 8-13-4 in the all-time series against Vanderbilt. The two teams battled to a draw the last time they met in 2024, with neither team able to find the back of the net.

The Tigers defeated the Dores the last time they faced them on the road, claiming a 2-1 victory at Vanderbilt Soccer Complex in 2022.

Vanderbilt sits at No. 13 in the national rankings this week, coming off a win against Middle Tennessee on Sunday. At the time, No. 25 Vanderbilt soccer tallied its second consecutive shutout and fourth of nonconference play in their last match.

The Commodores own one ranked win on the year, as they took down No. 16 Georgetown. They have tallied 19 goals, which ties for third-most in the conference currently, and 125 shots, the seventh most in the SEC.

Last Time On The Pitch

The Tigers wrapped up the non-conference portion of their schedule with a 2-0 win over Utah last Sunday afternoon at Ute Field. LSU struck first in the 15th minute of the match as freshman forward Sariyah Bailey claimed her first goal of her career.

Already the Tigers leading scorer on the year, junior forward Ava Galligan added another to her resume as she helped secure the win with her goal in the 43rd minute.

LSU goalkeeper Audur Scheving held Utah scoreless in her first start of the season with the help of the Tiger defense in Salt Lake City. It is the squad’s third clean sheet on the year thus far.

The opening 15 minutes of the match saw neither able to create quality looks on goal. The Tigers registered the first shot on goal of the match at the start of the 15th minute, with a shot from forward Morgan Witz saved by Utes goalkeeper Erin Gibbs.

The breakthrough came 35 seconds later. Forward Sariyah Bailey received a ball on the left flank and charged into the box, cut inside to skip past her defender and sent a strong shot on goal from about ten yards out.

The shot narrowly deflected off the head of Smith before finding the bottom right corner to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead on the day. The goal was Smith’s first of the season, while the assist was the fourth of the year for the freshman Bailey.

The Tigers maintained control of play throughout the remainder of the first half and did not allow the Utes to get a shot on goal or any quality attacks in their final third. Two minutes before halftime, LSU doubled the lead through their lead goalscorer Galligan.

Midfielder Makenna Dominguez carried the ball into the attacking third and sent a through ball on the right flank to Galligan, who burst behind her defender and eventually slotted a right-footed shot near post and past the Utah goalkeeper.

The goal was Galligan’s fifth of the season, Dominguez’s second assist of the year, and it meant that the Tigers would take a 2-0 lead into halftime.

The second half picked up right where the teams left off from the first, with LSU limiting the quality of chances that the Utes had in attack.

The match only made it to the 63rd minute before storm clouds rolled in the area, forcing a weather delay at 2:32 local time. While rain did not hit the field during the hour break, lightning strikes within an eight mile radius held up the resumption of the match.

The match resumed at 3:41 local time with 27 minutes of play left to go. The Tigers did not miss a beat despite the delay in play, keeping the ball for the majority of the remainder of the match.

The Utes only mustered one shot on goal, a strong shot by Ali Swensen in the 84th minute that was punched away by LSU goalkeeper Audur Scheving. The match finished 2-0 in favor of the visiting Tigers.

Utah outshot the Tigers by a margin of 15-5, but only one of the Utes’ 15 shots was on target while the Tigers had three. Both goalkeepers finished the match with one save. It was a strong defensive day for the Tigers, who did not let the home team get quality chances at scoring a goal.

Season Stats

LSU has five wins on their resume this year, most recently taking down Utah on the road.

The Tigers remain undefeated at home (3-0), as they will look to defend their home pitch again on Thursday, September 18 as they host Alabama for their SEC home opener.

The Purple & Gold squad also owns wins over South Alabama, FGCU, UC Davis and a top-25 victory over No. 21 Wisconsin. Their win over the Badgers was the program’s first ranked victory at home since 2021.

The Tigers have scored 17 goals on the year and currently sit in the top-10 in the SEC in shots (118), assists (13), saves (18) and goals entering tomorrow’s match.

Junior forward Ava Galligan is the Tigers leading scorer with five on the year thus far, which places her amongst the top-10 leading scorers in the SEC (tied for fifth-most). Galligan scored the game winner in LSU’s match against No. 21 Wisconsin to secure the win over the nationally ranked Badgers.

Hermannsdottir, the second-highest active player in the conference with the most career goals (22), follows Galligan with three goals on the year while Witz owns two.

Witz is a graduate transfer who joined the Tigers for her final season in 2025. Jazmin Ferguson, Kelsey Major, Gabbi Ceballos, Senai Rogers and Ryann Denecour have all tallied one goal each as well.

Freshman Sariyah Bailey has been outstanding on the attack for LSU in her debut season, tallying one goal of her own and two assists that led to two goals for the Tigers over UC Davis. She owns three on the year.

Senior goalkeeper Sophine Kevorkian has started in all but one match in between the posts for LSU, tallying a 1.34 goals-against average (GAA), 17 saves and two shutouts through six matches. Her two shutouts are tied for the sixth-most in the conference currently.

There are multiple Tigers who have started in every match for LSU this year, including veteran centre back and captain Jazmin Ferguson, as well as Jocelyn Ollivierre, Kelsey Major, Gabbi Ceballos and Hermannsdottir.

2025 Schedule Overview

The Tigers’ 18-game regular season slate features eight home matches, including five pivotal SEC contests in Baton Rouge against Alabama, Missouri, Texas A&M, Kentucky, and Florida.

LSU opens SEC play on the road at Vanderbilt this Friday before hosting Alabama for its conference home opener on Thursday, Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. CT.

The “Strike Gold” theme for 2025 reflects the team’s championship aspirations as they pursue a fifth straight NCAA Tournament appearance.

LSU has advanced to the postseason in four of Hudson’s first five years—the longest streak in program history.

The Tigers non-conference schedule was built to prepare us for the challenges of SEC play by Hudson.

Some of LSU’s non-conference road tests included Wake Forest, Florida Gulf Coast, UCF, Utah Valley, and Utah.

The Tigers will conclude the regular season in Baton Rouge with a marquee matchup against Florida on Sunday, Oct. 26 at 2 p.m. CT.

Postseason play begins with the SEC Tournament in Pensacola, Fla., on Nov. 2, followed by the NCAA Tournament on Nov. 14.

The University of Kansas will host the 2025 Women’s College Cup at CPKC Stadium on Dec. 5 and 8.

Tigers on TV

The Tigers television slate consists of three conference matches against Auburn, Missouri and Ole Miss, starting with a road conference matchup against Auburn at 6 p.m. CT on Thursday, September 25th on SEC Network.

The squad will be featured on TV twice in October with matchups against Missouri and Ole Miss.

The battle of the Tigers is set for 5 p.m. CT on Thursday, October 2nd in Baton Rouge while LSU will travel to face the Rebels on Thursday, October 16th at 6 p.m. CT.

More LSU News:

LSU Football Pushing to Flip Top-10 Quarterback in America Committed to SEC Rival

No. 1 Quarterback in America Set to Visit LSU Football, Alabama, Georgia and Florida

The Early Betting Lines: LSU Football vs. Florida Gators in Massive Week 3 Matchup

Join the Community:

Follow Zack Nagy on Twitter: @znagy20 and LSU Tigers On SI: @LSUTigersSI for all coverage surrounding the LSU Tigers.