LSU coach Brian Lee said the Tigers have been “relentless” this season when it comes to getting ahead in games.    And this relentlessness has made his team one of the hottest in the nation as it sits perched near the top of the college soccer world. The No. 17 Tigers (10-2-0, 4-2-0) are No. 1 in the Southeastern Conference in goals per game with 3.08 a contest. “We’re scoring more goals, and I think we’re just maturing as a group,” Lee said. “Games that were finishing tied 1-1 last year are now finishing 2-1, 3-1 or 4-1 for us this year.”LSU only scored 32 goals through the first 12 games of last season. The Tigers have scored 37 goals through a dozen games this season. The Tigers havevallowed eight goals this season — the largest scoring margin in the SEC. LSU’s most recent win for the team was a 7-0 rout of SEC West foe Alabama.”It’s just a confluence of circumstances,” Lee said. “Maybe we did a good job of hitting our target with our chances.”A large factor in the increased offensive performance is a quartet of Tigers who all have at least five goals.”We feel like we’ve got really balanced scoring and a bunch of different types of attacking players who can create chances for us in a lot of different ways,” Lee said.  Juniors Malorie Rutledge and Michelle Makasini lead the team with seven goals each. Junior Rachel Yepez is third on the team with six goals, and senior Roslyn Jones is fourth with five goals.”Every day, we work on shooting and finishing,” Rutledge said. “We stay after practice, and we work on it. We have some great finishers in Michelle Makasini, Rachel Yepez and Melissa Clarke who are getting some goals. We’ve worked hard for it, and it’s starting to come together.”The trio of Rutledge, Makasini and Yepez make up three of the top five scorers in the SEC, and Rutledge said the team has been successful because of the way they play together. LSU could increase its conference-leading stats when Tigers host Vanderbilt and Kentucky this weekend.LSU faces the Commodores (8-5-1, 2-4) at 7 p.m. at the LSU Soccer Complex. The Tigers wrap up the weekend Sunday at 1 p.m. against the Wildcats (3-9-2, 1-4-1). A win against the Commodores would increase the LSU school record home unbeaten streak to 17 games. Vanderbilt sits in ninth place in the SEC standings and has only won three of its last nine games.But Lee said the Tigers won’t overlook the Commodores. “Friday night is Vanderbilt, who we’ve seen on tape and think is one of the best teams in the SEC,” Lee said. “They’ve had some tough luck with results in game where they’ve played very well.”Kentucky is the No. 11 team in the conference and is near the bottom in several statistical categories, ranking last in the conference in points and goals per game.”Kentucky on Sunday is one of the best coached teams in the SEC,” Lee said. “They’re dangerous up front. They’re extremely organized through the back and midfield.”
 
 
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