Tempe turned into a tough road stop for LSU on Sunday morning.
The Tigers played Arizona to a 1-1 draw at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium and moved to 1-4-1 on the season. Arizona sits at 2-1-1 after the tie.
LSU grabbed the lead late in the first half. Senior forward Ava Galligan buried her third goal of the year in the 44th minute off a feed from Senai Rogers.
That put the Tigers up 1-0 heading to the locker room. Galligan finished the opening half with two shots and got one of them on frame.
Her goal marked the third time this season she’s found the back of the net and gave LSU some real momentum right before the break.
Arizona didn’t stay quiet for long once play resumed. Kyleigh Johnson leveled things up in the 68th minute with her first goal of the season, set up by an assist from Allyson Brown.
That tied the match at 1-1 and it stayed that way the rest of the way.
The goal snapped LSU’s lead and forced the Tigers to chase a response for the final 22 minutes.
LSU couldn’t find a late answer
The Tigers pushed for a response but managed just two shots in the second half.
Arizona pressed harder and fired off five attempts of its own, including a couple of late looks from Lainey Swanson and Mireya Stephenson that sailed high and wide.
Neither team could break through again and the match stayed knotted until the final whistle.
Goalkeeper Audur Scheving stayed in net for the full 90 minutes and gave up just the one goal.
LSU’s back line deserves plenty of credit too since it limited Arizona to only two shots on target even though the Wildcats out-shot the Tigers 13-6 overall.
Possession leaned LSU’s way at 58 percent and the Tigers earned three corner kicks compared to four for Arizona.
Both sides finished even with two shots on goal, a sign of how tight the match really was despite the shot gap.
Depth showed up across the roster
Galligan paced LSU with two shots and the lone goal. Ryann Denecour, Kelsey Major, Allie Fryer and Brielyn Knowles each chipped in with a shot of their own and Rogers picked up the assist on the tally that got canceled out later in the match.
That kind of spread shows LSU isn’t relying on just one or two players to create chances, even in a season that’s still finding its footing.
This draw snapped a stretch that included a 3-2 loss to Florida Gulf Coast on Aug. 23 and gave the Tigers their first result since then.
It also bumped LSU’s record to 1-4-1 through the early part of the schedule, with the team still working to find consistent form on both ends of the field.
LSU heads back home next and will host Baylor on Thursday Sept. 3 at LSU Soccer Stadium.
It’s a chance for the Tigers to build off Sunday’s effort in front of their own crowd and try to turn a hard fought road tie into some momentum heading into September.
