BATON ROUGE – After picking up its first two points in Southeastern Conference play with a pair of draws last week, the LSU Soccer team heads to Lexington, Kentucky, in search of its first win in league play this year when it battles the Kentucky Wildcats on Friday night at 6:30 p.m. CT at the Bell Soccer Complex.
The Tigers (7-1-2, 0-1-2 SEC) and Wildcats (5-7, 0-3) are both in search of their first win in conference play this season while meeting for the first time on the soccer pitch since the 2015 SEC Tournament.
The match will stream live on the SEC Network+ as fans can watch the Tigers in action at ESPN3.com and through the WatchESPN app available on all smartphone and tablet devices. Fans can also receive live updates at the Bell Soccer Complex by liking @LSUSoccer on Twitter at http://twitter.com/lsusoccer and Instagram at http://instagram.com/lsusoccer and by liking LSU Soccer on Facebook at http://facebook.com/lsusoccer.
While the Tigers arrive in Lexington looking to close the gap on Kentucky with a 6-12-2 mark in 20 previous matches in the all-time series, their fortunes have certainly turned during the Brian Lee era as they boast a 6-4-2 record with all six wins coming since Lee was appointed in 2005. That includes an even 2-2-2 mark in six meetings at the Bell Soccer Complex in Lexington.
LSU solidified its NCAA Tournament resume the last time the sides met in the latter stages of the 2015 season with a thrilling 3-2 win at Kentucky in its regular-season finale on Oct. 29 followed by a 2-1 first-round win in the SEC Tournament five days later on Nov. 2.
Leading the line for Kentucky heading into Friday’s match day is freshman midfielder Eva Mitchell, who will be the top-scoring Wildcat on the pitch with three goals in her rookie season of NCAA Division I soccer.
Junior Alex Thomas has certainly worn her scoring boots for the Tigers in recent weeks as she scored the winner in the 44th minute of LSU’s 1-0 home win over 19th-ranked Cincinnati back on Sept. 14 before scoring two in LSU’s 2-2 draw with Mississippi State on Sunday for her first career multi-goal game. Thomas enters the weekend as the team’s leading scorer with a career-high six goals on the year.
Senior Zoe Higgins follows with four goals as she looks to end a drought of five-straight starts without a goal, while senior Nicole Howard and freshman Tinaya Alexander have each scored three times on the season.
Friday’s match at Kentucky is the only fixture scheduled for the Tigers this weekend as they return home next Thursday, Oct. 5, to play host to the Georgia Bulldogs in a match that is scheduled to kick off at 6 p.m. CT at the LSU Soccer Stadium. LSU then travels to Oxford, Mississippi, to face 18th-ranked Ole Miss at 2 p.m. CT as both matches will stream live on the SEC Network+.