BATON ROUGE — The 24th-ranked LSU soccer team looks to extend its winning streak in the Southeastern Conference to three games as it wraps up a four-game road trip with a match against Kentucky on Sunday at noon CDT at the UK Soccer Complex.
The Tigers (10-2-4, 4-1-2 SEC) are coming off of a 2-0 shutout of the Vanderbilt Commodores on Friday night and are currently alone in fourth place in the SEC standings at 14 points.
LSU is also looking to extend its unbeaten streak over Kentucky (7-6-2, 1-6-0 SEC) to three games as the sides battled to a 1-1 draw in Lexington in 2005 while the Tigers earned a 3-2 win in Baton Rouge a year ago. The Wildcats lead the all-time series with an 8-1-1 mark.
Kentucky is fresh off of its first win in league play as it defeated the Arkansas Lady Razorbacks by a 2-1 margin on Friday night. Despite dropping their first six league matches, the Wildcats opened their SEC slate unbeaten with draws against nationally-ranked Louisville and Purdue.
“Kentucky is a good team that is much like Vanderbilt in that the results just haven’t fallen their way in the league this year,” said LSU head coach Brian Lee. “They tied two of the top teams in the country in Louisville and Purdue and will be playing with confidence after a big win Friday night. It’s important that stay focused and play with intensity if we hope to leave with a win.”
The Tigers enter Sunday’s match just two points out of first place in the league standings as they trail only Tennessee and Georgia at 16 points and Auburn at 15 points after Friday’s action.
The squad continues to boast the premier scoring attack in the SEC as it leads the league in goals (37), assists (34), points (108) and shots per game (18.0) this season. The Tigers also feature four of the top five scorers in the league on the offensive end.
Sophomore Rachel Yepez is the league’s leading scorer with 11 goals and 24 points on the year, while junior Roslyn Jones and sophomores Michelle Makasini and Malorie Rutledge are each tied for third with 18 points. Rutledge is the SEC’s assist leader and tied a team single-season record with her 10th assist of the season against Vanderbilt.
The Tigers have also been impressive on the defensive end as they are fifth in the SEC with a 0.77 goals against average. Senior goalkeeper Valerie Vogler has seven shutouts on the year.
“This is obviously an important game for us, and Sunday road games in the SEC are always tough,” Lee said. “We had a big win on Friday night, but we need to rest and refocus to get ready to play a quality Kentucky club tomorrow. We’re looking forward to the challenge.”
The Tigers follow Sunday’s tilt with Kentucky with their final home game of the regular season as they square off against the South Carolina Gamecocks on Thursday at 7 p.m. at the LSU Soccer Complex. Seniors Sara Pollock, Caroline Vanderpool and Valerie Vogler will be making their final appearance at home in an LSU uniform.