BATON ROUGE – The LSU Tigers will look to extend their unbeaten run in Southeastern Conference play to three-straight games on Sunday as they wrap up a weekend on the road with a trip to Columbia, South Carolina, to take on the No. 20-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks with kickoff set for Noon CT at Eugene E. Stone III Stadium.
Sunday’s match will be featured on the SEC Network+ as fans can watch the Tigers in action online at http://espn3.com/ or by using the WatchESPN app available on all smartphones and tablets.
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 throughout each match during the 2014 season.
The Tigers (5-6-2, 1-2-1 SEC) picked up their first league victory of the season with a 2-0 shutout of Mississippi State in Starkville on Friday night as All-SEC striker Summer Clarke scored her team-leading seventh goal for the season in the 23rd minute that proved to be the game-winner before midfielder Natalia Gomez-Junco netted her third goal of the season in the 48th minute of play.
The Tigers are now unbeaten in their last two SEC matches that also includes a 3-3 home draw against the Arkansas Razorbacks last Sunday as they currently sit in 10th place on four points in the current SEC table.
The Gamecocks (8-3-1, 1-2-1) are also on four points in league play in the wake of their 1-1 draw at Alabama in Tuscaloosa on Friday night, but lead the Tigers by one spot in ninth place on the strength of the better goal differential through four conference matches. South Carolina opened conference play with a 2-1 extra time win at Auburn on Sept. 21.
South Carolina is ranked as high as No. 20 nationally heading into Sunday’s match as they have cracked the Top 20 in the most recent TopDrawerSoccer.com Top 25 released this past Tuesday. They also feature a No. 24 national ranking in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America/Continental Tire NCAA Division I Top 25 poll that was also released on Tuesday of last week.
South Carolina’s success this season is built on an outstanding defense as the Gamecocks have conceded just five goals to their opponents through 12 matches for the best defensive record among all 14 SEC teams.
The Tigers have won only two of their previous 16 meetings with the Gamecocks on the soccer pitch as they look to improve upon their 2-9-5 mark all-time on Sunday. They look for their first win in the series since Oct. 25, 2009, when they defeated the No. 10-ranked Gamecocks by a score of 1-0 at the LSU Soccer Stadium in Baton Rouge. South Carolina is riding a five-game unbeaten streak in the series since 2009.
The Tigers are also seeking their first win in Columbia in more than 19 years when they took home a 1-0 victory over South Carolina in the inaugural match between the two sides back on Sept. 22, 1995.
After facing the Gamecocks in Columbia on Sunday afternoon, the Tigers will return home on Thursday night for a match against the Alabama Crimson Tide that will kick off at 6:05 p.m. CT on the SEC Network. Thursday marks the only match day for the Tigers next week as they will face the Crimson Tide on the SEC Network Game of the Week.