BATON ROUGE – With a week’s rest following their travels to Lexington, Kentucky, last week, the LSU Tigers are excited to return home Thursday night as they welcome the visiting Georgia Bulldogs to the LSU Soccer Stadium for a match that is scheduled to kick off at 6 p.m. CT live on the SEC Network+.
The Tigers (7-2-2, 0-2-2 SEC) and Bulldogs (4-7, 0-4) will battle for a valuable three points in the race for SEC Tournament qualification as both sides seeks their first conference win of the season.
Those attending Thursday’s match are encouraged to wear pink to help LSU’s efforts to Boot Breast Cancer as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Pink ribbons will also be handed out at the gate before kickoff.
Calling all #LSU Soccer fans! Join us tomorrow night as we #BootBreastCancer as part of our match vs. @UGASoccer! Kickoff at 6 p.m. CT. pic.twitter.com/3dFCG0oXFy
— LSU Soccer (@LSUSoccer) October 4, 2017
The match will stream live on the SEC Network+ as fans can watch at ESPN3.com or by using the WatchESPN app available on all smartphone and tablet devices. Fans can also follow the action by following @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 Georgia scored a 3-0 win in Athens the last time these sides met on Oct. 9 of last season, the Tigers came back from a 3-1 deficit in the first half to win a 4-3 thriller in regulation in their last meeting in Baton Rouge during the 2015 regular season en route to the NCAA Tournament. Senior Debbie Hahn, then a sophomore in her first season at LSU, scored a crucial second goal for the hosts before halftime to cut the deficit to 3-2 as former Tiger Natalia Gomez-Junco secured the points with a second-half brace to complete the turnaround.
The Tigers enter the contest with a 5-3-1 advantage in matches played in Baton Rouge, while the Bulldogs lead the all-time series 10-6-2 in 18 previous meetings thanks to a 7-1-1 mark on their home field in Athens.
Senior Kelsey Killean and freshman Mollie Belisle lead the line for the Bulldogs with a team-leading four goals apiece heading into this weekend’s action. Belisle scored all four of her goals this season in a 9-1 home win over Coastal Carolina back on Sept. 10. Freshman forward Reagan Glisson and senior midfielder Mariel Gutierrez lead the team with four assists and three assists, respectively, this season.
LSU enters the weekend with a top-20 national ranking in the NCAA’s Ratings Percentage Index for the third-straight week while checking in at No. 19 in Monday’s release. The Tigers ranked No. 14 in the initial ranking on Sept. 18 before climbing to a season-high of No. 11 a week ago.
The Tigers follow up their home match with Georgia on Thursday night with a trip to Oxford, Mississippi, on Sunday where they will face No. 24-ranked Ole Miss at 2 p.m. CT at the Ole Miss Soccer Stadium. They are set to host Arkansas on Oct. 12 at 6 p.m. CT and No. 10-ranked Central Florida on Oct. 15 at 1 p.m. CT at the LSU Soccer Stadium.