On Friday afternoon, the IU women’s soccer team conceded three goals in a match for the first time since Oct. 25, 2015.
IU began play in the Hoosier Challenge Cup by losing 3-0 to Louisiana State at Bill Armstrong Stadium. Two goals from junior forward Jorian Baucom and another from freshman midfielder Caitlin Cantrill led LSU in the win, which snapped a two-game winning streak for IU.
The Tigers have now recorded victories against the Hoosiers in each of the last two seasons, after also winning 4-0 last season in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
“We’re young, we have to learn from this,” IU Coach Amy Berbary said. “We just have to regroup from this. This has to make us a better team.”
Freshman goalkeeper Sarah L’Hommedieu entered the match for IU without allowing a goal in her last 214 minutes of game action. L’Hommedieu received the start in net for the third consecutive match for the Hoosiers, although there was not much for her to deal with early on.
IU came close to taking the lead twice in the early stages of the first half through freshman forward Macy Miller. Miller had a shot tipped onto the crossbar by LSU sophomore goalkeeper Caroline Brockmeier in the sixth minute before having another shot saved by Brockmeier in the 15th minute.
“Macy has been fantastic. She strictly works off of her instinct,” Berbary said. “She has a ton of potential.”
Following the initial chances by Miller though, the remainder of the first half featured the Tigers on the attack. L’Hommedieu’s shutout streak had grown to 248 minutes by the time Baucom opened the scoring in the 34th minute of the match with a header from a corner kick.
The cross, delivered by sophomore midfielder Gabriela Maldonado, was met by Baucom and headed into the top left corner.
LSU doubled its lead just prior to halftime in the 44th minute when Cantrill fired into the top right corner of the goal following a goal-mouth scramble after another corner kick.
“We started to get a little sloppy with the ball in transition,” Berbary said. “We just weren’t completing that first and second pass.”
The lead for LSU grew to 3-0 just five minutes into the second half when Baucom scored her second goal of the match. Her second goal came via a penalty kick, which she placed past a diving L’Hommedieu.
The Tigers nearly made it 4-0 in the 56th minute when freshman defender Marlena Cutura curled a cross off the crossbar. The Hoosiers tried to get a goal back as the game neared its conclusion, but their chances were limited by the Tiger defense.
Senior midfielder Veronica Ellis fired a shot in the 59th minute from distance that went just over the top of Brockmeier’s goal, but that was as close as IU would get.
“We weren’t able to put a goal away today,” Berbary said. “When you have great teams like LSU on their heels, you have got to be able to put one away.”
Senior defender Marissa Borschke said the team will use the match as a learning experience to help determine the parts of their game they need to focus on.
“I think we’re definitely a lot better than where we were last year,” Borschke said. “I think we are starting to get comfortable with each other. This team has huge potential and it’s exciting. I think we’re in a good spot and we’ll just continue to grow.”
