BATON ROUGE, The. – Rookie Ida Hermannsdottir grabbed a brace with goals in the 27e and 82n/a minute as the LSU Football Team (3-0-2) defeated the Grambling State Tigers (2-3-0) by a score of 3-1 Friday night at LSU Football Stadium.
Grambling State opened the scoring in 8e minute as Samantha Diaz found the left corner 15 yards out. LSU tied in 24e minute as striker Mollie Baker hid a finish from 12 yards out. Hermannsdottir gave LSU a 2-1 lead three minutes later with a superb long-range effort before scoring the final goal in the 82n/a minute after ignoring a defender and passing a ball past the Grambling State goalkeeper.
“Thank you to Grambling State for their performance today,” said head coach Sian Hudson. “They came and defended well as a unit and scored a goal against the run of play in the first half with a great finish. I don’t think we were at our best tonight as a team. As the game progressed we definitely saw more balls and started opening them up more defensively. All in all, we need to get back to the training ground and review a few things before we hit the road for our big game against Southern Miss on Sunday.
The first goal of the match came in the 8e minute as Grambling State struck first. Reece Scott passed in the box to Diaz, who cut inside his left foot and lifted a shot 15 yards out that beat LSU’s Bella Zanotelli and landed in the bottom left corner.
LSU responded with energy to the first base and looked for the equalizer. The time has come in the 24e minute as defender Laney Gonzales picked a perfect one-inch pass into the box to find Baker. Baker took a touch and slid the ball past Grambling State goaltender Madison Covey-Taylor and into the bottom left corner to make it 1-1 on the night. The goal was Baker’s third of the season while Gonzales’ assist was the first of his college career.
Purple & Lens 🗣
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— LSU Soccer (@LSUSoccer) September 2, 2022
The header came for LSU just three minutes later as Hermannsdottir found the back of the net with a phenomenal shot. Striker Angelina Thoreson controlled the ball from the edge of the box and made a simple pass to Hermannsdottir, who charged from midfield. Hermannsdottir met the pass and broke a 24-yard opening effort that exploded over the top of the net and past the goalie to give LSU a 2-1 lead. The goal was Hermannsdottir’s second of the season and marked the second game in a row where the Icelandic international found the back of the net. Thoreson’s assist was his third of the season, a team high.
The leg on Hermannsdottir 🤭
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— LSU Soccer (@LSUSoccer) September 2, 2022
LSU continued to pressure until late in the first half as Covey-Taylor earned saves in the 32n/a34eand 41st minutes to keep the score at 2-1 before half-time.
After a whirlwind 30-minute delay moments before the scheduled start of the second half, the teams returned to action in the second half. Baker nearly made it 3-1 on the night of 63rd minute as his shot from the top of the box was only denied by the crossbar. Covey-Taylor turned down LSU’s chances in the 50e and 69e minutes to take her backup count up to five, where she ended the night.
The last nail in the coffin came in the 82n/a minute as Hermannsdottir doubled his total that day and extended LSU’s lead to 3-1. Baker collected the ball in the final third and cut inside to beat two defenders and sent a ball deep into the box. Hermannsdottir timed his run and ignored a defender before calmly flicking the ball past the goalkeeper from five yards out.
Hermannsdottir’s brace was the first of his college career and his third goal of the season. For Baker, the assist was the Arizona native’s first of the season and took her points tally to 7 on the year.
All gas 🔥
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— LSU Soccer (@LSUSoccer) September 3, 2022
LSU edged Grambling 23-1, with the home team having eight shots on goal to the away one. In the battle for possession, LSU won by a margin of 68% to 32%. After Grambling’s first goal, LSU took control of the game and kept it going throughout.
Next
LSU hits the road and heads to Hattiesburg, Mississippi to take on the Southern Miss Golden Eagles at 1 p.m. CT on Sunday, September 4.
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