BATON ROUGE ? Not only is the LSU soccer team one of the nation’s top-20 teams in the national rankings again this week, but the Tigers are ranked No. 14 in the first Ratings Percentage Index released by the NCAA late Monday afternoon.
The RPI is the primary ratings system used by the NCAA when determining which teams will receive at-large bids to compete in the NCAA Tournament following the regular season.
The Tigers are building a strong resume for an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament for the third year in a row as they boast a 2-1-1 mark against teams ranked in the top 50 of the first RPI of the season. LSU boasts wins over No. 12 Georgia (6-0) and No. 31 Auburn (2-0) and a draw with No. 5 Central Florida (0-0), while its only top 50 loss is to No. 1-ranked North Carolina (1-0).
The Tigers are 8-2-2 overall and a perfect 4-0 in SEC play to this point in the season as they are currently alone in first place in the overall SEC standings with 12 points. LSU is off to its best start in SEC play as its previous best is a 3-1 start in league play in the program’s inaugural season in 1995.
The Southeastern Conference has also proven to be one of the premier conferences in all of college soccer as seven programs are currently among the top 50 of the RPI.
Joining the Tigers in the RPI top 50 include No. 6 South Carolina, No. 12 Georgia, No. 19 Florida, No. 31 Auburn, No. 44 Vanderbilt and No. 45 Ole Miss. The only teams not among the top 50 are Tennessee at No. 51, Alabama at No. 55, Mississippi State at No. 61, Arkansas at No. 114 and Kentucky at No. 125.
LSU will have an opportunity to improve its postseason positioning this weekend as the team makes a trip to Lexington, Ky., on Friday night to take on the Kentucky Wildcats at 6 p.m. CT and a trip to Nashville, Tenn., on Sunday afternoon to battle the Vanderbilt Commodores at 1 p.m. The Tigers will look to extend their school record SEC unbeaten streak to eight games on Friday night.
NCAA Ratings Percentage Index (as of Oct. 5, 2009)
1. North Carolina
2. Stanford
3. Florida State
4. Portland
5. Central Florida
6. South Carolina
7. Virginia Tech
8. UCLA
9. Boston College
10. Arizona State
11. Connecticut
12. Georgia
13. Santa Clara
14. LSU
15. Texas A&M
16. Wake Forest
17. Southern California
18. Oregon
19. Florida
20. Maryland
21. Oregon State
22. Washington State
23. Notre Dame
24. Penn State
25. UAB