BATON ROUGE — With a crucial SEC Western Division showdown against Ole Miss set for a 7 p.m. kickoff on Friday night at the LSU Soccer Complex, the LSU soccer team will enter the match ranked in the top 20 of all three national rankings released on Monday and Tuesday.
The Tigers (9-3-2, 5-1-0) find themselves in second place in the overall SEC standings with 15 points as they trail only South Carolina’s 16 points in the race for the league championship.
LSU wrapped up its four-game SEC road swing this past weekend while suffering its first conference loss of the season with a 1-0 decision against Kentucky in Lexington on Friday night. The Tigers rebounded on Sunday afternoon with a thrilling 2-1 overtime win against Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tenn.
The Tigers are ranked as high as No. 15 after dropping five spots in the latest Soccer Times Top 25, while they are also tied for No. 16 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Top 25 and No. 20 in the Soccer America Top 25 ranking released this week.
LSU is one of five Southeastern Conference clubs to earn a national ranking this week as South Carolina leads the way with a No. 5 ranking in all three major polls. Florida is ranked as high as No. 11 nationally in the latest NSCAA Top 25, while Georgia is ranked as high as No. 21 in this week’s Soccer Times Top 25 and Ole Miss is ranked as high as No. 21 in the latest Soccer America Top 25.
The Tigers welcomes No. 21 Ole Miss to the LSU Soccer Complex on Friday at 7 p.m. CT before battling the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.
Soccer Times Top 25
Team (Record) Last Week
1. Stanford (13-0-0) 1
2. North Carolina (11-1-1) 2
3. Portland (12-1-0) 3
4. UCLA (11-1-1) 4
5. South Carolina (13-0-1) 7
6. Boston College (11-2-0) 6
7. Wake Forest (10-2-1) 9
8. Florida State (10-2-1) 5
9. Notre Dame (10-3-1) 8
10. Southern California (10-3-0) 19
11. Rutgers (10-2-3) 11
12. BYU (11-2-2) 13
13. Virginia Tech (10-3-0) 12
14. Texas A&M (9-4-1) 14
15. LSU (9-3-2) 10
16. Ohio State (10-2-1) 21
17. Florida (10-4-1) 17
18. California (8-3-1) 22
19. Maryland (10-2-1) NR
20. Central Florida (10-3-1) 25
21. Georgia (11-2-1) 16
22. Santa Clara (8-5-1) 15
23. Purdue (7-3-3) 18
24. Washington State (8-3-1) NR
25. St. John’s (10-3-1) 24
NSCAA Top 25
Team (Record) Last Week
1. Stanford (13-0-0) 1
2. North Carolina (11-1-1) 2
3. UCLA (11-1-1) 3
4. Portland (12-1-0) 4
5. South Carolina (13-0-1) 7
6. Wake Forest (10-2-1) 11
7. Notre Dame (10-3-1) 8
8. Boston College (11-2-0) 6
9. Florida State (10-2-1) 5
10. Rutgers (10-2-3) 10
11. Florida (10-4-1) 14
12. Central Florida (10-3-1) 16
13. Maryland (10-2-1) 19
14. Texas A&M (9-4-1) 17
15. Southern California (10-3-0) 23
T16. LSU (9-2-3) 13
T16. Virginia Tech (10-3-0) 12
18. Purdue (7-3-3) 9
19. Ohio State (10-2-1) 25
20. Santa Clara (8-5-1) 15
21. California (8-3-1) 21
22. Indiana (9-3-1) NR
23. Georgia (11-2-1) NR
24. Arizona State (7-3-2) 20
25. BYU (11-2-2) NR
Soccer America Top 25
Team (Record) Last Week
1. Stanford (13-0-0) 1
2. Portland (12-1-0) 2
3. North Carolina (11-1-1) 3
4. UCLA (11-1-1) 4
5. South Carolina (13-0-1) 8
6. Florida State (10-2-1) 5
7. Boston College (11-2-0) 7
8. Notre Dame (10-3-1) 9
9. Southern California (10-3-0) 14
10. Maryland (10-2-1) 17
11. Virginia Tech (10-3-0) 6
12. BYU (11-2-2) 18
13. Wake Forest (10-2-1) 21
14. Central Florida (10-3-1) NR
15. Michigan State (7-1-4) 10
16. Texas A&M (9-4-1) 23
17. California (8-3-1) 19
18. St. John’s (10-3-1) 11
19. Rutgers (10-2-3) 12
20. LSU (9-3-2) 15
21. Ole Miss (9-3-1) 24
22. Marquette (9-4-2) NR
23. Ohio State (10-2-1) NR
24. Georgia (11-2-1) 16
25. San Diego (7-4-2) NR