ORANGE BEACH, Alabama - The No. 8 Texas A&M Aggies advanced to the semifinal round for the sixth time in their nine trips to the SEC Soccer Tournament with a 1-0 win over the LSU Tigers on Tuesday afternoon at Orange Beach Sportsplex.

Jimena Lopez tallied the lone score of the match with a golazo on a free kick from 36 yards out.

The Aggies were the aggressors in the first half, owning a 9-2 edge in shots, including a 6-1 margin in shots-on-goal. Kendall Bates was inches from breaking the scoring seal in the 40th minute when she hit the crossbar from 20 yards out. LSU netminder Mollee Swift kept the Tigers in the match with five first-half saves.

Texas A&M goalkeeper Kenna Caldwell recorded her third shutout in the last four matches. She registered a season-high six saves, including five to stave off LSU's furious second-half assault. Sawyer Dumond, Karlina Sample and Katie Smith all played the full 90 minutes on the backline as the Maroon & White booked their SEC-leading fifth shutout on the year.

LSU was valiant in their second-half effort, outshooting the Aggies 8-7, including 5-2 in shots-on-goal. For the match, the Texas A&M held the advantage in shots (16-10) and shots-on-goal (8-6) and the corner kicks were even at 1-1.

Texas A&M improved to 8-1-0 on the season with their seventh consecutive victory. After losing in the quarterfinal round in each of the last two SEC Tournaments, the Maroon & White find themselves in their rightful spot in the semifinal, where they appeared in six of their first seven trips to Orange Beach.

SCORING SUMMARY

41' - Jimena Lopez launched a left-footed free kick from 36 yards out on the right channel and carried it over the head of the keeper into the back of the net for the icebreaker. A&M 1, LSU 0.

UP NEXT

The Aggies return to action Thursday when they play the No. 7 seed Vanderbilt Commodores in an 8:30 p.m. semifinal contest at Orange Beach Sportsplex.