BATON ROUGE – As the LSU soccer team turns down the homestretch of the 2011 regular season, the Tigers head to James G. Pressley Stadium in Gainesville, Fla., on Sunday afternoon to battle SEC-leading and 11th-ranked Florida at 1 p.m. CDT as part of a nationally-televised broadcast on ESPNU.
Sunday’s match actually marks the fifth time in the past three seasons that LSU Soccer has competed with a nationwide audience on ESPNU while posting a 2-1-1 mark in its four previous appearances.
The Tigers (11-6-1, 6-3 SEC) trail the Gators (14-4, 7-2) by three points on the SEC table as they kick off Sunday in sole possession of fourth place with 18 points in conference play. Despite sitting at fourth place in the overall SEC standings, LSU owns a two-point lead over Auburn for first place in the SEC West.
Florida, the five-time defending SEC champion, is currently tied with South Carolina for first place on the league table after securing 21 points from its nine SEC matches this season. The Gators are coming off of a 2-1 overtime win at Arkansas on Thursday night to keep pace at the top of the conference standings.
The Gators enter the match ranked as high as No. 11 nationally in this week’s Soccer Times Top 25. They are also ranked No. 13 in the country in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America/Continental Tire Top 25 and No. 21 in the Soccer America Top 25 released earlier this week.
The Tigers are looking to rebound from a 4-1 defeat to South Carolina in their 2011 home finale Thursday while seeing their nine-game home unbeaten streak snapped by the Gamecocks.
LSU has dropped each of its last five matches against Florida dating back to the 2007 campaign, with also includes a 2-0 setback to the Gators in their last meeting at the LSU Soccer Stadium in Baton Rouge during the 2010 regular season. The Tigers last earned a positive result against the Gators with a 1-1 draw at home in Baton Rouge on Oct. 22 of the 2006 season.
Senior midfielder Taryne Boudreau has been a revelation for the Tigers with her performance for the year after scoring her career-high and team-leading 10th goal of the season on Thursday against the Gamecocks on Senior Night. Boudreau is the SEC’s No. 1-ranked goal scorer and No. 2-ranked point scorer in league play this fall with seven goals and 17 points to her credit in nine conference matches.
Florida counters with two of the SEC’s Top 10 goal scorers of their own this season as junior striker Erika Tymrak is the league’s second-leading scorer with 11 goals and freshman midfielder Annie Speese is now tied for the No. 10 spot in the SEC rankings with seven goals on the year.
The Gators boast the SEC’s No. 1-ranked offensive attack this season while scoring a total of 45 goals for the season, while they have also surrendered just 18 goals to their opponents on the campaign.
Live updates and exclusive coverage of Sunday’s match between LSU and Florida is 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.
After taking on the Gators on Sunday, the Tigers will wrap up the 2011 regular season next weekend with a trip to Fayetteville, Ark., to face the Arkansas Razorbacks on Friday in a match that is scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m. CDT at Razorback Field. They will then open up the postseason in the eight-team field at the 2011 SEC Tournament beginning Nov. 2 in Orange Beach, Ala.