What a way to kick things off at home.
The #16 LSU women’s soccer team picked up their first win of 2026 with a 5-0 thrashing of Northwestern State. The Tigers move to 1-1-0 with the win while the Demons fall to 0-2-0 with a goal differential of -14.
LSU had full control of the game from the start, but the first half scoreboard didn’t it. Despite outshooting the Demons 10-1 in the first half, LSU’s three shots on goal got saved by keeper Saki Tsuchiya. In the second half, the floodgates burst open, and Tsuchiya only managed one save on LSU’s six shots on target. LSU outshot NSU 24-3 and had 13 corners to NSU’s 0.
The Tigers opened the scoring in the 52nd minute with a cheeky Ava Galligan boot off an assist by Amy Smith. In the 54th minute, LSU drew a penalty, and Allie Fryer kicked the floater in the right half of the net to make it 2-0. 19 seconds later, Brielyn Knowles sent a cross into the box and Linka Ono slammed the ball into the net with her head to make it 3-0. In the 83rd minute, Ryann Denecour scored after a couple Demons deflected a corner kick straight to her waiting right foot to make it 4-0. In the 85th minute, Denecour sent a ball into a tight window forward for Mia Conard, and she buried it home for the fifth and final goal.
LSU moves to 6-0-1 all-time against Northwestern State. LSU’s five second-half goals is the most they’ve scored since the 2009 NCAA tournament opener against UAPB. The Tigers will stay home for two games this upcoming week, and the first is Thursday at 7:00 p.m. against 1-0-0 UCF.