BATON ROUGE – The SEC-leading LSU soccer team will put its seven-game unbeaten streak on the line Friday night when it welcomes the 10th-ranked Tennessee Lady Volunteers to Baton Rouge in what is surely the league’s premier match of the evening that is set for 7 p.m. CDT at the LSU Soccer Stadium.
Fans have the opportunity to “Geaux Free!” to experience Friday’s heavyweight bout as admission will be free to each of LSU’s remaining three home games this season, compliments of The Advocate.
Fans who are unable to attend the match are reminded that live streaming video of the contest is slated for a 6:55 p.m. start for those with a subscription to the Geaux Zone at www.LSUsports.net/live.
Live updates and exclusive coverage of the match with the Tigers and Lady Volunteers is also available by liking LSU Soccer on Facebook and following @LSUSoccer on Twitter. In addition, fans are welcome to join in the live in-game commentary throughout the match as part of LSU Soccer’s Facebook chat.
This marks LSU’s second home match against a nationally-ranked opponent for 2011 as Tennessee boasts a No. 10 national ranking in the latest Soccer Times Top 25 released Monday. The Lady Volunteers are also ranked No. 14 in the Soccer America Top 25 and No. 15 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Top 25 as they are a consensus Top 15 team nationally this week.
The Tigers played to a 1-1 draw with No. 13-ranked Pepperdine back on Sept. 11 and own a 4-4-5 overall record in 13 home matches against nationally-ranked opponents in seven seasons under Brian Lee.
“It’s a challenge any time you step on the field and compete in this league. Tennessee will provide a great challenge for our team on what will be a big night in the SEC,” said LSU head coach Brian Lee. “They’ve proven to be one of the best teams in the country with their performance this season. Our fans are really in for a treat tomorrow night as we expect an exciting match between two good teams.”
The Lady Volunteers (8-2, 1-1 SEC) are coming off their signature win of the 2011 season to this point as Sunday they took down the No. 6-ranked Florida Gators by a score of 4-2 in Knoxville.
Junior Alexis Owens was the star of the weekend for the Lady Volunteers as she scored a hat trick against the Gators en route to earning Soccer America National Player of the Week and SEC Co-Offensive Player of the Week honors for her three-goal performance in Tennessee’s victory.
While Owens led the attack in Sunday’s defeat of Florida, the Lady Volunteers have been led this year by the likes of senior Emily Dowd and sophomore Caroline Brown as they rank No. 3 in the SEC this season with 25 goals scored as a team. Brown is the team’s leading scorer in 2011 with eight goals and 21 points, while Dowd follows with six goals and 16 points on the campaign.
Not only that, but Tennessee also features the elite defensive unit in the SEC while allowing a league-low eight goals for a league-leading 0.78 goals against average in 10 matches this season.
The Tigers (7-3-1, 2-0 SEC) enter Friday’s contest riding a seven-game unbeaten streak, which includes a sweep of Mississippi State and Ole Miss on the opening weekend of SEC play to grab six points and their share of first place for the overall league table with Arkansas and Auburn. The Tigers are also unbeaten in their last three matches against the Lady Volunteers dating back to a 5-1 win in Baton Rouge in 2009.
The sides played a pair of matches a year ago as they played to a 1-1 draw in Knoxville during the regular season before the Tigers scored a 1-0 overtime victory in the first round of the SEC Tournament.
LSU senior Taryne Boudreau joined Owens as the SEC Co-Offensive Player of the Week this week in the wake of a breakout performance a week ago during which she scored two goals apiece in a 5-1 win versus Mississippi State and 3-2 win against Ole Miss, including the game-winning goals in each match.
Not only do the Tigers own a seven-game unbeaten streak this season entering the game, but they are also unbeaten in their last seven matches at the LSU Soccer Stadium as they are now 6-0-1 dating back to their 1-0 shutout of the Arkansas Razorbacks in the 2010 regular season finale.
Friday is “Greek Spirit Night” at the LSU Soccer Stadium as the Greek organization showing off the most spirit during the match will receive a prize, courtesy of the LSU Marketing & Promotions Department.
After taking on the Lady Volunteers on Friday night, the Tigers will wrap up their eight-game homestand on Sunday afternoon as they battle the Georgia Bulldogs in a match slated to kick off at 1 p.m. at the LSU Soccer Stadium. The Tigers will not return home until Thursday, Oct. 20, when hosting South Carolina in their 2011 home finale at the new LSU Soccer Stadium.