BATON ROUGE — The 17th-ranked LSU soccer team will look to extend its SEC unbeaten streak to seven games on Sunday afternoon when it battles division rival Auburn in front of a nationwide audience in a match scheduled for a 2:05 p.m. CT kickoff at the Auburn Soccer Complex.
The match is scheduled for a live television broadcast by ESPNU as part of ESPN’s coverage of the SEC, marking LSU’s television debut this season.
The Tigers (7-2-2, 3-0-0 SEC) are among the hottest teams in the nation as they enter the match fresh off a 3-0 win over the Alabama Crimson Tide on Friday night in Tuscaloosa. This marks just the second time in program history that LSU has kicked off league play with a perfect 3-0 mark as the team has outscored its opponents by a combined margin of 14-1 in three conference games.
By defeating Alabama on Friday night, the Tigers matched a school record as they are unbeaten in league play in their last six matches. LSU has not dropped a decision to a SEC foe since suffering a 2-1 defeat to the sixth-ranked Florida Gators back on Oct. 26, 2008.
Auburn (5-3-3, 2-1-0 SEC) also kicked off the weekend with a win on Friday night as it earned a 2-1 win over the Arkansas Razorbacks in a match at the Auburn Soccer Complex.
LSU and Auburn have proven to be the most dominant teams in the SEC West in recent years as the sides tied for the division title a year ago with matching 7-3-1 marks and 22 points in SEC play. However, LSU earned a 2-1 overtime victory over Auburn on Oct. 10 of last season at the LSU Soccer Complex.
LSU must make history if it hopes to come away with a win on Sunday afternoon as it has never defeated Auburn in seven previous meetings at the Auburn Soccer Complex where it is 0-7 all-time.
“Auburn is a very good team, especially when playing at home,” said LSU head coach Brian Lee. “We’ve got a great challenge ahead of us tomorrow afternoon. It is never easy to go on the road in this league and come away with a win. We were fortunate enough to do that last night, but we are going to have to play at the top of our game if we hope to get three points against a quality team like Auburn.”
After battling Auburn on Sunday afternoon, the Tigers will head back on the road next week as they battle Kentucky in Lexington on Friday at 6 p.m. CT and Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tenn., on Oct. 11 at 1 p.m.