BATON ROUGE ? The LSU soccer team is riding high after defeating the No. 8-ranked Georgia Bulldogs by a score of 6-0 on Friday night, and the Tigers look to continue that momentum when they go up against the Tennessee Lady Volunteers on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the LSU Soccer Complex.
The Tigers (5-2-2, 1-0-0) enter the match unbeaten in their last two games that also includes a 2-2 draw at Duke last weekend, while the Lady Vols (5-3-0, 1-0-0) got back into the win column on Friday with a 1-0 shutout of the Arkansas Razorbacks in Fayetteville.
LSU is just 1-10-1 all-time against Tennessee after suffering a narrow 2-1 defeat to the Lady Volunteers a year ago at the Regal Soccer Stadium in Knoxville in the last meeting between the two sides.
“Friday was a good opener for our team, but it is important that we show some consistency and carry that performance into tomorrow’s game against Tennessee,” said LSU head coach Brian Lee. “Tennessee is an outstanding team again this season and will bring the fight to us from the opening kick. It is important for us to play with passion and intensity for 90 minutes if we want to come away with a result in that game.”
Freshman striker Carlie Banks was the star of the match for the Tigers in their 6-0 win over Georgia while scoring a hat trick and the first three goals of her collegiate career.
Senior forward Rachel Yepez, sophomore midfielder Taryne Boudreau and freshman forward Tricia Johnson also scored goals for the Tigers on Friday, while sophomore goalkeeper Mo Isom earned her fifth clean sheet of the season and 12th of her career to improve her goals against average on the year to 0.64.
The Tigers will host their annual “Pooch on the Pitch” promotion when they play Tennessee on Sunday as the first 50 fans who bring their dog to the game will receive a free LSU retractable Frisbee. All fans that do bring their dogs to the LSU Soccer Complex are asked to have them on a leash.
Sunday’s match will also be Slidell Youth Soccer Club Day and Zachary Area Soccer Association Day as all members of the two organizations will receive free admission to the game.
In addition, LSU has partnered with the 11 other SEC institutions for the third-annual Together We CAN Food Drive. The Tigers will collect food and other financial donations at Sunday’s match to benefit the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank. The annual food drive ends Sunday, so all fans attending the match are encouraged to participate by bringing a canned food item.
After taking on the Lady Volunteers on Sunday, the Tigers will go on the road next weekend as they take on Kentucky in Lexington on Friday at 6 p.m. CT followed by a match against Vanderbilt in Nashville on Oct. 4 at 1 p.m.