BATON ROUGE — After suffering its first defeat of the 2008 season this past weekend, the 15th-ranked LSU soccer team hopes to regain its winning form on Friday when it travels to Knoxville, Tenn., to take on the Tennessee Lady Volunteers at 6 p.m. CT at the Regal Soccer Stadium.
The Tigers (7-1-0, 1-1-0 SEC) saw their seven-game winning streak snapped on Sunday with a 1-0 shutout at the hands of the Ole Miss Rebels in Oxford, Miss.
But that defeat did not diminish what the Tigers accomplished on the opening weekend of league play as its 4-1 victory over the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Sept. 26 established a new program record for consecutive wins to open a season at seven straight.
To get back into the win column, LSU must defeat a club that has dominated the all-time series as the Tigers are just 1-9 all-time when facing the Lady Volunteers. The Tigers won the last meeting between the two sides with a 3-0 shutout of No. 6 Tennessee on Oct. 5 of last season.
“Tennessee is certainly a program we have a lot of respect for by the way they’ve grown into one of the true powers in our sport,” said LSU head coach Brian Lee. “They have dominated the SEC in recent years and are always a threat to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. This will be an important match for both teams, and we expect a battle for the full 90 minutes on Friday.”
Despite its 3-7 record entering Friday’s match, the Lady Volunteers have played one of the more difficult schedules in the SEC that includes six matches against nationally-ranked opponents with its best win of the season coming against then 15th-ranked Illinois on Sept. 7.
Tennessee also faced the likes of national powers North Carolina and West Virginia during its non-conference schedule before opening league play with matches at South Carolina and Florida.
“In no way does Tennessee’s record to this point in the season reflect the quality of its team,” Lee said. “They are still one of the more talented teams in our league and have prepared themselves for SEC play against one of the more difficult non-conference schedules in the country. That is an indication to me of the confidence the coaching staff has in its student-athletes.
“We better come ready to play tomorrow night because it is always difficult to go on the road and win a big game in this league. It should be an exciting atmosphere for college soccer.”
Senior All-American Kylee Rossi leads the Tennessee attack with a league-leading six goals after 10 matches this fall as the two-time defending SEC Offensive Player of the Year has scored exactly half of her team’s goals to this point. The Lady Vols also boast an All-American between the posts in the form of senior goalkeeper Jaimel Johnson.
“Tennessee is very sound on both ends of the field,” Lee said. “It’ll be extremely important for us to play with great intensity and stay organized for the full 90 minutes in order to come away with a positive result. It’s a great challenge for our team, but one that we fully embrace.”
After battling the Lady Volunteers on Friday night, LSU will wrap up its five-game road swing at Georgia on Sunday afternoon as the sides will kick it off at noon at the Turner Soccer Complex in Athens. The Tigers then return home for the first time in nearly one month as they play host to the Auburn Tigers on Oct. 10 followed by a match against the Alabama Crimson Tide on Oct. 12.