The months of hard work and preparation for the soccer team and its coaches are finally starting to pay off.
Riding the coattails of wins over regionally-ranked Miami and Memphis and an overtime draw against No. 6 Texas, the Tigers (6-1-2) are No. 7 in the Soccer Buzz Central Region rankings and No. 8 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America central regional rankings.
The Tigers have maintained this ranking for several weeks since they started the season with an eight-game unbeaten streak. LSU had an overall 10-game unbeaten streak beginning in the 2006 season before suffering its first loss this past weekend against Davidson.
Despite the recent loss, LSU coach Brian Lee said he is proud of this team.
“We’re excited about how we’ve started,” Lee said. “We feel like we’ve got a top-level collection of players who have worked hard in the off-season and the early part of this season.”
Several players have contributed to the team’s success.
Sophomore Malorie Rutledge leads the Southeastern Conference with eight assists, and freshman Taryne Boudreau is tied for third with five.
Senior goalkeeper Valerie Vogler ranks No. 2 in the conference with four shutouts. Vogler also has 29 saves on the year.
Sophomore Rachel Yepez continues to lead the conference with nine goals. This is up from her five-goal total in 2006. Her 30 shots also makes her No. 3 in the conference.
Yepez, Rutledge and junior Roslyn Jones also rank No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 in the conference with 19, 14 and 13 goals, respectively.
Lee said he appreciated the hard work put forth by Yepez during the off-season.
“She has been working really hard for the last 10 months,” Lee said. “She is extremely dedicated to the cause, and because of this, we’re getting good results from her.”
The Tigers open up SEC play this weekend with matches against Mississippi State and Ole Miss.
LSU defeated the Bulldogs 1-0 this past season and tied the Rebels 1-1 in overtime.
Lee said conference play is crucial to the rest of the season. This past season, LSU finished conference play with a 4-4-3 record, which was No. 3 in the West.
The conference uses a point system to determine who is at the top. Each team receives three points for a win, one point for a tie.
“Every SEC game is a battle,” Lee said. “We were .500 in the league and barely missed out on the tournament last year.
“We were only one win away from winning the Western division. One of our goals this year is turning more of those ties into wins.”
Not only has play on the field improved this season, fan attendance has also increased.
Against Southern Miss. on Aug. 31, fans broke the previous attendance record for the complex with 1,868 fans, and on Sept. 14, fans set the current record when 2,160 fans attended the match versus McNeese State.
This weekend, fans are encouraged to “Cram the Complex” for the Mississippi State game in hopes that the record will be broken for the third time this season.
“There is always a good turnout at these events, and it really creates a fun atmosphere for the players and the fans as well,” Lee said. “The marketing department does such a good job of getting the word out and creating an atmosphere. I’ve always said that the fans in the complex are worth a goal.”
—-Contact Johanathan Brooks at [email protected]