In the LSU soccer team’s clubhouse, a list of every NCAA team ranked by its Ratings Percentage Index is posted on a bulletin board for all to see.
RPI measures a team’s win-loss record and strength of schedule, and the top 64 teams at the end of the season receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament. After scanning down the order, the Tigers (9-3-2, 5-0-1 Southeastern Conference) can be found at No. 59, an odd place for a squad at the top of a major conference with only three weeks left in the regular season. 
For all of its success, LSU is dangerously close to the cutoff for tournament teams, and coach Brian Lee wants his players to know it.
“It’s not really a motivational tactic; it’s a realism tactic,” Lee said. “You have to understand what you’re up against and why it’s important that you win games. Right now, we’re just focusing on trying to get ourselves in contention to win the SEC.”
The Tigers have a golden opportunity to ascend the ranks in the grueling final leg of the season, as four of their five remaining opponents boast winning SEC records and solid RPIs. LSU’s first test comes tonight when No. 24 Ole Miss (11-3-1, 4-2-0 SEC) pays a visit to Baton Rouge at 7 p.m.
The Rebels are an offensive powerhouse, scoring 2.67 goals per game. Senior forward Rafaelle Souza, who has played with the Brazilian national team, leads the Rebels with 13 goals this season.
“We have to team-defend [Souza],” Lee said. “I think she’s one of the top 10 players in the country. … Whoever is near her at the time has got to be focused and ready, and everybody needs to take care of their jobs.”
Souza and the Ole Miss attack may not have such an easy time scoring against the Tigers. The LSU back line is loaded with upperclassmen, and senior goalkeeper Megan Kinneman is allowing only 1.29 goals
per game.
“It’s just about focusing on what we know about them and what we know about ourselves,” Kinneman said. “We have to play to our strengths and fight through the whole game to stay consistent and composed on the back line.”
The last time the Tigers and the Rebels squared off, Souza scored the game-winning goal in the final minute of a 1-0 contest that eliminated LSU from the SEC Tournament and ended its 2012 season. Though Lee said he wasn’t preaching revenge this week, senior defender Alex Ramsey acknowledged that she hasn’t
forgotten the sting of last year’s loss.
LSU will cap off the weekend with a Sunday match at No. 8 Florida, a perennial SEC powerhouse. The game against the Gators will be televised on Fox Sports Network, but the national exposure may not matter as much as the boost in the Tigers’ RPI.
“These last few games are a chance for us to move up in the RPI standings,” said freshman forward Summer Clarke. “It’s important for us to come out strong, get some early goals and put on a
good performance.”

Who: LSU (9-3-2, 5-0-1 SEC) vs. Ole Miss (11-3-1, 4-2-0 SEC)
When: Friday, Oct. 18 at 7 p.m.
Where: LSU Soccer Stadium
“It’s important for us to come out strong, get some early goals and put on a good performance.”