BATON ROUGE — The LSU soccer team has finished the 2006 regular season with its highest postseason ranking in the program’s 12-year history at No. 74 in the latest Ratings Percentage Index released by the NCAA on Wednesday.
The Tigers have competed against perhaps the toughest schedule in the country this season as eight opponents are currently ranked among the Top 30 in the RPI, including No. 11 Texas, No. 12 Florida, No. 19 Villanova, No. 20 SMU, No. 21 Navy, No. 22 Auburn, No. 24 Tennessee and No. 29 Vanderbilt.
“We feel like we’re among the most deserving teams in the country to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament when you sit down and look at our resume,” said LSU head coach Brian Lee. “We have played against maybe the toughest schedule in the country and would go in with full confidence that we can compete with the best teams in the country.”
Second-ranked Notre Dame and No. 3 Santa Clara are the only teams in the country to play more games against teams currently ranked in the RPI Top 30 with nine, while No. 1 North Carolina, No. 25 Marquette and No. 27 Connecticut have equaled the Tigers’ scheduling efforts with eight games apiece.
The Southeastern Conference has proven to be the most competitive conference in women’s college soccer this season as a whopping 10 teams find themselves ranked among the Top 85 in the RPI with No. 45 Kentucky, No. 59 South Carolina, No. 63 Ole Miss, No. 84 Arkansas and No. 85 Georgia joining the other five.
No other conference in the country can make that claim as the Atlantic Coast Conference follows closely behind with nine teams ranked among the nation’s Top 85, while the Big East Conference and Pac-10 Conference each have eight. Lee said the SEC’s success on a national level this season is unprecedented in its existence.
“This has been the most competitive the SEC has ever been from top to bottom, and has been perhaps the most competitive conference in the country this season,” Lee said. “It’s great to have the commitment from the league and its member universities for the long-term growth of women’s college soccer in this conference.”
The 64-team Women’s College Cup bracket will be announced live on ESPNews on Monday at approximately 2 p.m. CST. The full NCAA Tournament bracket will be available at www.ncaasports.com immediately following the announcement.
LSU vs. RPI Top 60
LSU/Opp.
LSU/Opp.
LSU/Opp.
RPI
Team
Result
Shots
Saves
Corners
11
Texas (H)
L, 2-4
11/18
5/5
3/3
12
Florida (H)
T, 1-1
15/12
5/4
7/8
19
Villanova (N)
L, 0-1 (2 OT)
9/15
3/0
4/2
20
SMU (A)
L, 0-2
14/17
9/7
2/4
21
Navy (A)
L, 0-2
15/5
1/5
5/1
22
Auburn (H)
L, 1-2
19/13
6/4
4/2
24
Tennessee (A)
L, 1-2
7/20
5/4
1/3
29
Vanderbilt (H)
T, 0-0
18/20
9/9
4/12
45
Kentucky (H)
W, 3-2
20/9
1/4
6/4
59
South Carolina (A)
L, 1-2 (2OT)
10/11
5/4
6/4
Totals
1-7-2
138/140
49/46
42/43