BATON ROUGE – The LSU Tigers will put this season’s nine-game home unbeaten streak on the line on Friday night when they welcome the red-hot Missouri Tigers to town for a key Southeastern Conference tilt at the LSU Soccer Stadium that is scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m. CT with live coverage on the SEC Network+.
Fans are reminded they can “Geaux Free!” to each of LSU’s three remaining home matches in the 2015 season as admission is free at the LSU Soccer Stadium again this season, compliments of The Advocate.
LSU makes its return to the SEC Network+ as fans can watch the Tigers in action by accessing the online digital platform at ESPN3.com and using the WatchESPN app available on all smartphones and tablet devices. Live stats from the match will also be available for the public through StatBroadcast at http://lsustats.com.
Fans not able to watch the game can also follow the action through social media as they can receive live updates of LSU and Missouri by following @LSUSoccer on Twitter at http://twitter.com/lsusoccer and Instagram at http://instagram.com/lsusoccer and also by liking the LSU Soccer team page on Facebook at http://facebook.com/lsusoccer.
The Tigers (7-3-3, 1-3-1 SEC) are unbeaten in nine home matches this season as they enter Friday’s contest with a 6-0-3 mark at the LSU Soccer Stadium this fall, including a 0-0 draw with Vanderbilt in their last event on Friday of last week. They have picked up all four of their points in SEC play on their home field this season after also defeating Georgia by a 4-3 margin in their SEC home opener back on Sept. 17.
Missouri (5-3-4, 3-1-1) arrives in Baton Rouge with a three-game unbeaten streak in SEC play in the wake of a 2-1 home win over Ole Miss in their last match on Oct. 2 to move into fourth place in the SEC standings. The Tigers from Columbia are also the only team to hand eighth-ranked Auburn a defeat this season with a 2-1 home win in their SEC opener on Sept. 11, while they picked up a 3-1 road win at Kentucky on Sept. 25.
LSU owns a narrow 2-1 edge in the series that dates back to the 2012 season when the Tigers brought home three points with a 3-1 win over 16th-ranked Missouri in Columbia in their inaugural meeting. LSU followed in 2013 with a 1-0 home win to extend its winning streak to two in the series, while Missouri picked up its first win with a 3-1 win in Columbia a year ago.
The Tigers have featured one of the SEC’s most prolific attacks this fall while scoring 27 goals to this point of the season while already surpassing their total of 26 goals scored in 20 matches a season ago.
But they are looking to snap a scoreless streak of 217 minutes without finding the net after being shut out in each of their last two matches in a 2-0 defeat at Ole Miss on Sept. 27 and a scoreless draw against Vanderbilt last Friday night. Sophomore striker Jorian Baucom was the last Tiger to find the net in the 86th minute at Auburn two weeks ago.
LSU is building an impressive resume for a return trip to the NCAA Tournament this season as it has already picked up a pair of 1-0 home wins over two Top 30 teams in the NCAA’s Ratings Percentage Index by securing victories over No. 26-ranked Minnesota on Aug. 30 and No. 20-ranked Duke on Sept. 13. The Tigers look to add to their resume on Friday night as Missouri ranks No. 31 in this week’s RPI.
The Tigers are on the cusp of a Top 50 ranking in the NCAA’s RPI themselves as they check in at No. 53 in the primary ranking system used by the NCAA when determining the at-large field for the tournament.
After playing host to the Missouri Tigers on Friday night, LSU will turn around for a quick road trip this weekend to Gainesville, Florida, where it will face the 12th-ranked Florida Gators on Sunday afternoon with first kick scheduled for Noon CT on the SEC Network+. They will then travel to Fayetteville, Arkansas, on Thursday, Oct. 15, for a match against the Razorbacks set for a 6 p.m. CT kickoff on the SEC Network.