BATON ROUGE – The LSU Tigers have returned from their four-game cross-country road trip and are ready to play host to the No. 6-ranked Texas A&M Aggies in their Southeastern Conference home opener Friday night in a match that is featured on the SEC Network+ online platform and scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m. CT at the LSU Soccer Stadium.
Fans can “Geaux Free!” to each of LSU’s six remaining home matches during the 2014 regular season as admission is free at the LSU Soccer Stadium, compliments of The Advocate.
Fans can watch the Tigers in action on the SEC Network+ on Friday night by accessing the live streaming video online at www.SECsports.com/watch or by using the WatchESPN app available on all smartphones and tablets. LSU’s remaining six home matches will all feature on either the SEC Network or SEC Network+ through the end of the regular season.
Fans who are unable to attend the match are invited to follow the action through social media as they can receive live updates from the ground by following @LSUSoccer on Twitter at http://twitter.com/lsusoccer and by liking LSU Soccer’s official Facebook page at http://facebook.com/lsusoccer. They are also invited to join in the team’s live in-game chat on Facebook during each match during the 2014 season.
The Tigers (4-5-1, 0-1 SEC) enter Friday’s fixture looking to snap a streak of three defeats on the spin with their first victory over the Texas A&M Aggies (7-1-1, 1-0) in a series dating back to the second round of the 2009 NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Tournament. That’s when Texas A&M advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 with a 4-2 victory in a penalty kick shootout after the sides played to a 1-1 draw at the Baton Rouge Regional.
LSU and Texas A&M have enjoyed a hotly-contested rivalry in recent years since the Aggies joined the Southeastern Conference in 2012 as the Tigers have fallen by a single goal in each of the last two seasons.
The Tigers played host to the Aggies in Baton Rouge in their SEC debut two seasons ago with the visitors emerging as 1-0 winners. LSU nearly erased a three-goal deficit in their regular-season finale a year ago with two second-half goals from All-SEC striker Summer Clarke before ultimately falling by a 3-2 scoreline ahead of their appearance at the SEC Tournament.
The Aggies feature one of the nation’s top teams once again as they will make the trip to Baton Rouge on Friday night with a Top 10 national ranking to their credit. They are rated as high as No. 6 nationally this week by TopDrawerSoccer.com, while they also carry a No. 10 national ranking in the latest National Soccer Coaches Association of American/Continental Tire NCAA Women’s Division I Top 25.
Texas A&M is also on the cusp of a Top 10 national ranking in this week’s Soccer America Women’s Top 25 poll released on Tuesday with a No. 12 rating by the publication heading into the weekend.
While the Tigers are looking to snap a three-game losing skid on Friday night, the Aggies are looking to build on their three-game winning streak as they make the trip to Baton Rouge on the back of a pair of 3-0 defeats of Marquette on Sept. 14 and Tennessee in their SEC opener on Sept. 18 in a pair of matches played at Ellis Field in College Station. Texas A&M also scored a 2-1 home victory over Florida Gulf Coast on Sept. 11.
The Tigers have proven themselves as a formidable opponent to Top 10 opposition at the LSU Soccer Stadium in nine previous seasons under head coach Brian Lee as they have posted a strong 4-4 mark in eight games played against teams making the trip to Baton Rouge with a Top 10 national ranking on their side. LSU has also outscored Top 10 opposition by a 15-9 margin at home since Lee took over the program in 2005.
After claiming their first ever win over an opponent ranked among the Top 10 nationally with a 3-0 shutout of No. 6 Tennessee on Oct. 5, 2007, the Tigers have earned three more wins over Top 10 teams by scores of 6-0 over No. 8 Georgia on Sept. 25 and 1-0 over No. 10 South Carolina in 2009 and a 2-0 win over No. 10 Tennessee on Sept. 30, 2011.
Texas A&M features a dynamic attack with the SEC’s two leading goal scorers as midfielder Shea Groom tops the SEC scoring charts with eight goals on the year followed by striker Kelley Monogue with seven goals.
After playing host to the Aggies on Friday night, the Tigers will return to action on Sunday afternoon as they wrap up their home weekend with a match against the Arkansas Razorbacks with kickoff slated for 3 p.m. CT. Sunday’s match at the LSU Soccer Stadium will mark LSU’s debut appearance on the SEC Network this season.