BATON ROUGE — The 20th-ranked LSU soccer team claimed sole possession of first place in the SEC Western Division on Thursday night after battling the 25th-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks to a 1-1 draw at the LSU Soccer Complex.
The Tigers (10-2-6, 4-1-4 SEC) extend their unbeaten streak to four games and moved into first place in the SEC West as a result of Auburn’s 3-2 loss to Georgia on Thursday.
LSU is now one point ahead of Auburn in the standings with 16 points in league play.
The Gamecocks (12-4-2, 4-3-2 SEC) upped their unbeaten streak to eight straight in the all-time series against the Tigers with the draw.
“If you are able to contend for the SEC West and overall SEC titles then you are clearly one of the best teams in the country,” said LSU head coach Brian Lee. “We like the fact that we’re in first place in the SEC West at this point, but there are still two games to go and a lot still to be determined. We have another big game on Sunday.”
South Carolina outshot LSU by a 12-9 count despite the fact that the Tigers held a 5-3 advantage in shots on goal. The Gamecocks also held a 9-2 edge in corner kicks.
Sophomore forward Rachel Yepez provided the only score of the first half when she buried her league leading 12th goal of the season after taking a pass from sophomore Malorie Rutledge and ripping a one-timer into the back of the net from the top of the six-yard box. Rutledge is the SEC leader with 12 assists on the year.
Rutledge, who owns the LSU single-season record for assists, has been in involved in 16 of the Tigers’ 39 goals this fall as she has scored four goals with 12 assists for 20 points.
The Tigers were less than four minutes away from posting their third win over a Top 25 team in school history, but the Gamecocks drew level in the 86th minute when forward Danila Monteiro found the back of the net with a blast from the top of the penalty area.
“We didn’t play our best soccer tonight, but the girls fought hard to come away with the win,” Lee said. “South Carolina played an outstanding game tonight and had a lot to do with the fact that we didn’t play at our best. They fought hard for 110 minutes.”
Yepez gave the Tigers their best scoring chance in the second half as she misfired on a one-on-one opportunity early in the period.
After taking a 1-0 lead, LSU avoided several South Carolina scoring chances through much of the second half. Gamecock defender Blakely Mattern missed an opportunity in the 68th minute of play after rifling a shot off the crossbar.
Yepez nearly ended the contest early in the second overtime period with a shot on a goal, but Gamecock goalkeeper Laura Armstrong was in position to make the save. LSU was previously 10-0-0 when scoring the first goal of the match and leading at the half.
The Tigers face their second straight nationally-ranked opponent when they face the 22nd-ranked Florida Gators on Sunday at 11 a.m. CDT in Gainesville. The contest marks the beginning of a two-match road trip to end the regular season as LSU continues to jockey for position inn the SEC Tournament beginning Nov. 8 in Orange Beach, Ala.