LSU, Long Beach State start BYU homestand

PROVO, Utah – BYU women's soccer begins a four-game homestand this Thursday as the Cougars face LSU before playing Long Beach State on Saturday at South Field.

The LSU game will kick off at 6 p.m. MDT on Thursday and will be broadcast on TheW.tv. Saturday's game against Long Beach State kicks off at 7 p.m. MDT and will be broadcast on BYUtv and simulcast on BYU Radio. The Cougar IMG Sports Network will carry the game on BYUcougars.com and the BYU Cougars app.

BYU (1-2-2) fell to Utah 1-0 on Friday in Salt Lake City to suffer its second-straight defeat. The Tigers played Stephen F. Austin to a scoreless draw despite taking 26 shots on Monday night after losing to TCU 2-0 on Friday.

Last year, BYU beat LSU 4-2 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Labor Day. Colette Jepson Smith, Ashley Hatch, Rachel Manning and Paige Hunt each scored a goal as the Cougars scored three goals after being down 2-1 in the 33rd minute.

So far this season, LSU has four players who have scored multiple goals: Summer Clarke, Jorian Baucom, Natalia Gomez-Junco and Lexi Gibbs. Plus, the Tigers have four players who have assisted on multiple goals: Clarke, Gomez-Junco, Fernanda Pina and Christyna Pitre. The majority of LSU's goals have come in the first half where they have outscored opponents 7-1.

Long Beach State (3-1-2) beat Cal State Bakersfield 2-0 on Sunday and won't play again until Saturday's contest against BYU. The 49ers have yet to leave southern California this season and wrapped up a four-game homestand of their own with a 3-0-1 record against Georgia, Denver, San Diego and Bakersfield. So far this season, freshman Ashley Gonzales is tied for the team lead in goals and assists with two.

The 49ers beat BYU in Long Beach last season 1-0 as Big West Freshman of the Year Mimi Rangel scored in the 14th minute.