Texas Tech Soccer Downs LSU, Advances to NCAA Round Two

LUBBOCK, TX — No. 8 Texas Tech powered its way to a 2-1 victory over LSU in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night at the John Walker Soccer Complex. Behind a pair of brilliant assists from Macy Blackburn, the Red Raiders secured their fourth consecutive first-round tournament win in front of nearly 1,800 fans.

Texas Tech (15-4-2) set the tone early with a dominant first-half performance fueled by Blackburn’s creativity. In the 23rd minute, Blackburn delivered a pinpoint free-kick into the box, finding forward Taylor Zdrojewski, who volleyed a rocket past LSU goalkeeper Audur Scheving for her team-leading 10th goal of the season.

Blackburn’s second assist came in the 42nd minute when she raced down the flank and sent a perfect cross to Skylar Haase. The nearly six-foot forward buried a header into the bottom-right corner, giving Tech a 2-0 lead heading into halftime.

With those two assists, Blackburn extended her all-time Texas Tech record to 33 career assists and moved into 10th place on the NCAA active career assists list.
Just 27 seconds into the second half, LSU (9-9-3) struck back with a goal from Amy Smith, narrowing the deficit to 2-1. Despite LSU’s increased pressure, Texas Tech’s defense, anchored by goalkeeper Faith Nguyen, held firm.

Nguyen delivered a standout performance, making five saves, including two highlight-worthy stops. In the 12th minute, she denied LSU’s Danielle Shannon with a diving one-on-one save. Later, in the 67th minute, Nguyen acrobatically punched away a rising shot destined for the top-right corner.

With the victory, Texas Tech improved to 7-0-1 in NCAA First Round matches hosted at the John Walker Soccer Complex. The Red Raiders have advanced to the Round of 32 in all eight tournaments in which they’ve hosted a first-round game.

Friday night’s crowd of 1,788 marked the fifth-largest in Texas Tech’s NCAA Tournament history. The team has now reached the 15-win mark for the seventh time since 2012 and remains unbeaten in its last 35 matches when scoring at least twice (34-0-1).

The Red Raiders, with the victory, head to Durham to face top-seeded Duke next Friday, November 22. First touch in that matchup from Durham is set for 7:30 p.m.