BATON ROUGE ? Not only has the LSU soccer team cracked the national rankings this week, but the squad is ranked No. 13 in the first Ratings Percentage Index power ranking of the season release by the NCAA on Wednesday afternoon.
The RPI is the primary ratings system used by the NCAA when determining which teams will receive at-large bids into the NCAA Tournament following the regular season.
The Tigers are building a strong resume for an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament as they are unbeaten with a 3-0-3 mark against teams in the top 50 of the RPI. They boast wins over the likes of No. 5 Tennessee (3-0), No. 16 Memphis (7-2) and No. 50 Miami (4-1), while they have drawn No. 6 Georgia, No. 18 Texas and No. 26 Ole Miss.
LSU has competed against one of the toughest schedules in the nation through 13 games this season as only five teams have played more games against teams in the RPI Top 50, including No. 1 Penn State, No. 4 Virginia, No. 8 North Carolina, No. 12 Indiana and No. 21 Wake Forest.
“We feel like it’s important for us to put together a schedule each season that will help prepare our team for the SEC and put us in a position to receive an at-large bid into the postseason,” said LSU head coach Brian Lee. “We’ve certainly done that with our schedule this year.”
The Southeastern Conference is also making a case of being the premier conference in women’s college soccer this season as 10 teams are currently among the top 100 of the RPI.
Joining SEC contenders LSU, Tennessee, Georgia and Ole Miss are No. 25 South Carolina, No. 48 Florida, No. 57 Auburn, No. 82 Alabama, No. 83 Kentucky and No. 94 Mississippi State. Arkansas (101) and Vanderbilt (118) are the only squads not among the top 100 teams in the RPI.
“The SEC is as strong as it’s ever been, and a number of teams have a legitimate chance to win our conference title this season,” Lee said. “You can make a strong case for the SEC being the top conference in women’s college soccer this year with the results we’ve seen in the non-conference. The parity in this league is unlike anything we’ve ever seen.”
The NCAA will update the RPI two more times during the season before it selects the 64-team field for the NCAA Tournament. The RPI is scheduled for release on Oct. 22 and Nov. 5.