BATON ROUGE – The SEC-leading LSU soccer team has parlayed its six-game winning streak and nine-game unbeaten streak over the last four weekends into the national rankings this week as the squad is ranked as high as No. 14 nationally in the latest Soccer America Top 25 released Tuesday morning.
The Tigers also earned a pair of No. 25 rankings Tuesday with the release of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Top 25 and Soccer Times Top 25 polls.
LSU makes its return to the national rankings for the first time since Aug. 31, 2010, when it was ranked at No. 23 in the country in the Soccer Times Top 25. The Tigers were actually ranked among the nation’s Top 25 teams in each of the first three weeks of the 2010 season by Soccer Times.
They also make their return to both the NSCAA/Continental Tire Top 25 and Soccer America Top 25 poll for the first time since the 2009 campaign when earning a pair of No. 14 national rankings in the final poll of the season. The 2009 squad advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament after finishing the season with a 15-4-5 overall record and school record 8-2-1 mark with 25 points in SEC play.
The Tigers have catapulted themselves to the top of the SEC table in 2011 as the only team in league play to secure 12 points with a 4-0 record from the first four matches in conference action. Auburn and Florida follow three points back in a tie for second place on the table with 3-1 marks and nine points apiece.
Following a weekend sweep of 10th-ranked Tennessee and Georgia at the LSU Soccer Stadium, the Tigers extended their winning streak to six games and unbeaten streak to nine games as they are now 8-0-1 in the last month going back to a 2-1 road win at Houston on Tuesday, Sept. 6.
By racing out to a perfect 4-0 start in SEC play, LSU matched its best conference open in program history as the team is now unbeaten in its last seven matches against SEC opponents since 2010.
Soccer America Top 25
Team (Record) Last Week
1. Stanford (11-0-1) 1
2. UCLA (10-0-1) 2
3. Oklahoma State (14-0-0) 3
4. Duke (12-1-1) 4
5. Boston College (9-0-2) 5
6. Wake Forest (11-1-1) 6
7. Memphis (12-0-0) 8
8. Virginia (8-3-2) 7
9. North Carolina (8-2-0) 9
10. Florida State (9-4-0) 10
11. Maryland (8-2-3) 11
12. UW-Milwaukee (11-1-0) 12
13. Marquette (12-2-0) 13
14. LSU (9-3-1) NR
15. Tennessee (9-3-0) 14
16. Florida (10-3-0) 15
17. Pepperdine (8-0-4) 16
18. Penn State (11-3-0) 19
19. Dayton (10-1-0) 18
20. Santa Clara (7-1-4) 22
21. Auburn (9-2-1) 20
22. West Virginia (9-4-0) 21
23. Ohio State (8-4-1) 25
24. William & Mary (9-1-2) NR
25. La Salle (10-0-1) NR
NSCAA/Continental Tire Top 25
Team (Record) Last Week
1. Stanford (11-0-1) 1
2. Oklahoma State (14-0-0) 2
3. UCLA (10-0-1) 3
4. Duke (12-1-1) 4
5. Wake Forest (11-1-1) 5
6. Memphis (12-0-0) 6
7. Boston College (9-0-2) 7
8. Pepperdine (8-0-4) 8
9. Marquette (12-2-0) 10
10. North Carolina (8-2-0) 11
11. Florida (10-3-0) 12
12. UW-Milwaukee (11-1-0) 14
13. Florida State (8-4-0) 9
14. Santa Clara (7-1-4) 17
15. Dayton (10-1-0) 16
16. Virginia (8-3-2) 13
17. Maryland (8-2-3) 18
18. Penn State (11-3-0) 24
19. Oregon State (8-3-1) 23
20. Tennessee (9-3-0) 15
21. Boston University (10-2-1) NR
22. Auburn (9-2-1) 20
23. Long Beach State (9-3-1) NR
24. Central Florida (7-2-3) 25
25. LSU (9-3-1) NR
Soccer Times Top 25
Team (Record) Last Week
1. Stanford (11-0-1) 1
2. UCLA (10-0-1) 2
3. Oklahoma State (14-0-0) 3
4. Duke (12-1-1) 4
5. Wake Forest (11-1-1) 5
6. Boston College (9-0-2) 6
7. North Carolina (8-2-0) 7
8. Florida (10-3-0) 9
9. Memphis (12-0-0) 11
10. Virginia (8-3-2) 8
11. Marquette (12-2-0) 14
12. Pepperdine (8-0-4) 13
13. Florida State (9-4-0) 12
14. UW-Milwaukee (11-1-0) 17
15. Santa Clara (7-1-4) 16
16. Maryland (8-2-3) 15
17. Tennessee (9-3-0) 10
18. Oregon State (8-3-1) 19
19. Dayton (10-1-0) 20
20. Penn State (11-3-0) 23
21. Auburn (9-2-1) 22
22. Notre Dame (6-5-2) T25
23. Virginia Tech (8-4-1) T25
24. UC-Irvine (7-3-2) 18
25. LSU (9-3-1) NR