ORANGE BEACH, Ala. – Despite facing a 1-0 deficit at the break, the Tigers came out flying after halftime as senior Natalia Gomez-Junco and freshman Gabriela Maldonado each found the net within 10 minutes of the restart to lead LSU to a 2-1 comeback win over Kentucky in Monday’s opening round at the SEC Women’s Soccer Tournament.

The Tigers (12-4-4) picked up their first SEC Tournament victory since a 1-0 extra time win over Tennessee in the first round in 2010 while snapping a three-game losing skid at the Orange Beach Sportsplex.

Seventh-seeded LSU also won its rematch against No. 10-seeded Kentucky after the two sides met just four days ago in Thursday’s regular-season finale at the Bell Soccer Complex in Lexington where the Tigers won a thrilling 3-2 contest. The Wildcats (9-7-4) bowed out of the SEC Tournament winless in their last eight matches, including their two defeats to LSU.

The victory also moved the Tigers one step closer to an NCAA Tournament berth following Monday’s release of the latest Ratings Percentage Index where they moved up five spots to No. 39 nationally from their place a week ago. The Tigers extended their unbeaten streak to five-straight matches heading into Wednesday’s quarterfinal match against No. 2-seeded Missouri at Noon CT.

“I’m so proud of the character showed by our players today to come back and win it with a great second half,” said LSU head coach Brian Lee. “There’s so much on the line for the teams here this week, so to regroup at halftime and get back out and take control of the game like we did in the second half is a testament to our mentality and competitiveness as a team at such an important time of the season.”

The Wildcats broke through midway through a cagey first half when they recycled possession from a corner kick in the 24^th minute, and Cara Ledman picked out Tanya Samarzich shielding her defender at the top of the six-yard box for a diving header inside the left post past LSU’s senior goalkeeper Catalina Rubiano for a 1-0 lead and the only score of the opening 45 minutes.

Rubiano made a brilliant leaping save from a long-range effort by All-SEC midfielder Courtney Raetzman in the build up to the corner kick that resulted in the opening goal for one of her five saves in the match.

The Tigers came out firing after the break with Gomez-Junco drawing level with her fifth goal of the season in the 47^th minute and Maldonado netting the go-head goal with her third of the year from a corner kick from the 54^th minute to give LSU a lead it would not relinquish over the final 36 minutes of the match.

After seizing the initiative coming out of the break, sophomore midfielder Debbie Hahn dribbled to the end line down the right side and pulled the ball  back to Gomez-Junco at the top of the area for a curling shot that flew past a helpless Wildcat goalkeeper Katelyn Jensen and into the top-left corner of the net to pull the Tigers back to 1-1 at the 46:22 mark of the second half.

Maldonado then put LSU in front for good at the 53:44 mark when she stabbed home a Gomez-Junco corner kick after a Kentucky defender flicked the ball back into the six-yard box while standing at the near post.

The Tigers maintained their territorial advantage for the remainder of the match as they finished the afternoon with a 19-15 lead in attempts and 9-6 advantage in shots on goal for the 90 minutes. The Wildcats fired up seven corner kicks in the match to just two corner kicks for LSU on the day. Maldonado enjoyed an SEC Tournament debut to remember with her first game-winning goal of the season.

The Tigers leveled their record at 5-5-4 in 14 matches at the SEC Tournament since Lee’s debut season in 2005, while advancing to the quarterfinal round for the first time since the 2010 season. They will next face No. 2 seed Missouri in the first match on Wednesday afternoon that is set to kick off at Noon CT in a live broadcast on the SEC Network. 

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