Baucom's Five Goal Weekend Powers LSU Soccer

After being blanked in College Station by Texas A&M to open up conference play, LSU came back home to try to rebound against Ole Miss.

That rebound came thirty minutes into the contest Friday night when Jorian Baucom made a run into the box and cut past a defender into the face of goal. The freshman Rebel defender tried to make up for getting shook by going to the ground with Baucom for a penalty, which she converted.

On the other side of halftime, Baucom had another chance from the spot when Summer Clarke breezed by an Ole Miss defender before being cut down on the edge of the box. Jorian converted the penalty for a brace. The game was placed out of reach from the Rebels in the 77th minute when Marlena Cutura dropped a header short to the near post, finding Zoe Higgins who nailed the coffin shut with a stinging header to make it three nil.

With their first SEC win out of the way, LSU hosted Lamar for their non-conference regular-season finale on Sunday, and Baucom picked up right where she left off on Friday night. Well, Delaney Sheehan scored first when she received a ball over a challenge from Summer Clarke and fired a screamer from 20 yards out that the keeper had no chance with. It was all quiet for about 20 minutes, and then Baucom decided to go off.

In the 32nd minute, Jordane Cavery crossed a ball from the right touchline to an unmarked Baucom, who netted the easiest header in her life to double down the lead. She went back on the scoresheet in the 50th minute when she received Sheehan's pass with her back facing the goal that was about ten yards away and twisted around her defender for a rushed shot that went past the keeper's touch. Baucom reached her first career hat trick in the 67th minute when she was played into open space and burned past the Cardinals back line for a 50 yard dash culminating in a chip shot to the near post.

That goal was the ninth goal in 10 appearances this season from the Scottdale, Arizona junior. With her five-goal showcase on the weekend, Baucom has vaulted to the top of the NCAA's goalscoring list. Baucom has scored 32 goals in 52 career appearances, eight away from tying Artie Brown's school record of 40.

But Baucom wasn't the only productive player in purple and gold (and white) on the weekend, we finally a got an effective showing from the midfield. Combine that with a clean showing from the back line and all of a sudden LSU is looking like a pretty complete team. Over the weekend, LSU held a towering shot advantage of 41 to 13 over their opponents and only conceded nine corner kicks.

LSU has a challenging SEC road trip ahead of them, beginning with Thursday night when LSU plays South Carolina in Columbia at 6:00. After that, they draw Vanderbilt on the ensuing Sunday at 1. Both games will be streamed online via the SEC Network +.

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