The Southeastern Conference isn’t an easy place to take a road trip. Just ask LSU.The Tigers are fresh off a 2-1 home win against Kentucky and hold an 18-game unbeaten streak at the LSU Soccer Complex.But LSU is just 2-2 in conference road games this season, including a 1-0 loss to Ole Miss, which is 3-5 in SEC play. Junior forward Rachel Yepez said the SEC’s road game format of playing at two different locations in the same weekend may play a role in the away results.”We play very well on Fridays, and on Sundays we’re a little tired,” she said.This won’t be a factor for LSU’s final road trip of the regular season. The Tigers will play just one game — tonight at 6 p.m. against South Carolina — before returning to Baton Rouge to finish their schedule.”We’ve got a lot of respect for South Carolina,” said LSU coach Brian Lee. “They beat North Carolina last year, and they drew Florida State this year. We’re going to have to be at our best to win that game regardless of where it’s played. But it’s only one game — It’s not a big weekend.”The shortened trip doesn’t necessarily make things any easier. South Carolina is experiencing home success similar to LSU, with an 8-0-1 home record this season and a home unbeaten streak dating back to Oct. 19, 2007.”If we come out with a W there … we’ll be in good shape,” said junior midfielder Malorie Rutledge. “We’re going to work hard … and hopefully we can get it done.”The Gamecocks raced out to a 4-1-1 record to open their SEC schedule but dropped consecutive games to Alabama and Auburn last weekend. It was the first time South Carolina has lost back-to-back games since Sept. 26 and 28, 2007.LSU struggled to open its conference schedule, starting 1-2, but has since won five consecutive games for a 6-2 SEC record.”It was a learning experience,” said Rutledge after the win against Kentucky. “It just shows what it takes to win in the SEC. We all know what it takes, and we’ve been doing that ever since, so hopefully we just won’t let that happen anymore.”A road win could go a long way toward the Tigers’ postseason hopes. With three games left in the regular season, the Tigers are ranked second in the SEC and are in position to be one of the top two seeds in the SEC tournament. The team is two games out of first behind 8-0 Florida, who the Tigers play Oct. 26. LSU entered the tournament as the fourth of eight seeds last season, reaching the semifinals before losing to the Gators, 1-0.”We’re right where we want to be,” Lee said. “You can’t ask for anything more than 12-2 and 6-2 in the league. Now we’ll just play out these last three and see what happens.”—-Contact David Helman at [email protected]