BATON ROUGE — The LSU soccer team looks to end its three-game Southeastern Conference losing skid when it welcomes the struggling Alabama Crimson Tide to the LSU Soccer Complex on Sunday in a match scheduled for 1 p.m.
The Tigers (7-7-2, 2-3-2 SEC) are coming off of a hard-fought 2-1 defeat at home to Auburn on Friday night, while Alabama (5-10, 1-6 SEC) was shut out by Arkansas by the score of 5-0 in Fayetteville. The Crimson Tide has been outscored by the count of 9-0 in its last two games and 22-3 in seven SEC contests this season.
“Every game is big for our team coming down the stretch, and coming away with points in each game is huge, especially when we’re at home,” said LSU head coach Brian Lee. “Alabama is a difficult team to play stylistically. They’re a very physical team, probably the most physical team in the conference, and will be tough for us here on Sunday.”
The Crimson Tide has proven to be the most physical team in the SEC this season as it leads the league having committed 216 fouls while receiving a total of 24 yellow cards in just 15 matches, which is more than double the total of 11 yellow cards received by Ole Miss this season.
Alabama has been limited on the offensive end as no player on its roster has scored more than two goals, while junior defender Natalie Kohn leads the team with just five points on the year. The Crimson Tide will also be playing its last four games shorthanded as a total of six players have suffered season-ending injuries to this point.
“We can’t let our opponent’s style dictate the way we play, and that goes for everyone we go up against the rest of the way,” Lee said. “We want to play the way we play. We want to pass and move and play a very dynamic, attacking, exciting brand of soccer. We’ve got a great challenge ahead of us on Sunday against Alabama if we want to do that.”
The first 500 fans through the gate will receive free pom poms and LSU Soccer trading cards courtesy of the LSU Marketing and Promotions Department. The Tigers follow Sunday’s match against Alabama by traveling to Columbia, S.C., on Friday to take on South Carolina in match scheduled for 6 p.m. CDT.