Women's Soccer: LSU 5, Marquette 1

Marquette goalkeeper Amanda Engel was issued a red card in the 56th minute with the Golden Eagles trailing just 2-1, and it was all downhill from there.  LSU scored on the ensuing penalty kick and tacked on two more by the final horn while MU played down a woman to end up with the 5-1 victory on Sunday afternoon.

That sucks.

The game got started off on a good note for the Golden Eagles, as Ashley Handwork finished off a Liz Bartels pass in the 13th minute for her first goal of the season.  In fact, even though the Tigers scored two goals of their own by halftime, including a dazzling diving header from Alex Arlitt for their first of the game, the contest was reasonably under control.  LSU had outshot Marquette by a margin of only 6-4 through the first 45 minutes, and given that Marquette had kept Jorian Baucom, one of the best scorers in the country, off the board, you kind of have to chalk all of that up as a solid effort.

That all shifted 10 minutes into the second half.  Engel charged to stop a run by LSU's Summer Clarke, and the amount of physicality involved didn't fly with the referee.  Engel was issued a straight red, which brought in freshman Sloane Carlson to make her collegiate debut.... by defending a penalty kick from Baucom.  Yeah, it didn't go well for Carlson.  Baucom snagged a second goal in the 73rd minute to really take things out of hand, and Clarke's second of the match forty seconds later blew the score out to its final margin.

Up Next: As a result of the red card, Engel is suspended for Marquette's next match by NCAA rule.  Luckily for the Golden Eagles, that match is against UW-Milwaukee on Wednesday night, and Engel will be able to return to action for the Big East opener against Creighton this coming Sunday.  Carlson will get her first collegiate start against the Panthers (4-3-1) as MU looks to finish off the non-conference slate on a positive note.