One penalty kick gave the LSU soccer team the lead, but several of them took it away.The No. 16 Tigers (15-5-3) were knocked out of the Southeastern Conference tournament in a shootout for the second straight season — only this time the stakes were a first-ever SEC tournament championship.”We’re disappointed, but we feel like we didn’t play our best game,” said LSU coach Brian Lee. “Penalty kicks are kind of a crapshoot. Hopefully we can turn around and improve for the NCAAs next week.”No. 14 South Carolina (18-3-1) converted eight of nine penalty kicks in a grueling shootout, while LSU senior defenders Katherine Lagow and Chelsea Potts each missed attempts to give the Gamecocks an 8-7 advantage en route to their first-ever tournament championship.Lee said senior forward Rachel Yepez and senior midfielder Malorie Rutledge missed the shootout with injuries sustained during the game.”We kind of had to scramble around there at the end,” Lee said. “Hopefully it was a good learning experience for the younger players, and they’ll know if they want to step up and take a kick if we get into that situation again.”The loss is LSU’s second close call in as many weeks with SEC hardware on the line. The Tigers came within one point of capturing the regular season conference crown last weekend but were edged out by No. 10 Florida when the Gators won their last game of the regular season against the Gamecocks, 3-0.A penalty kick seemed to give the Tigers all the advantage they would need to capture the championship. South Carolina sophomore defender Ellen Fahey tackled LSU sophomore midfielder Taryne Boudreau in the penalty box in the 44th minute, drawing a penalty kick opportunity for LSU. Fahey was ejected from the teams’ first meeting on Oct. 25 for a similar challenge.LSU senior midfielder Melissa Clarke stepped up to take the penalty and banked the shot off the left goal post and in, giving the Tigers a 1-0 lead entering halftime.LSU maintained that advantage throughout a torrid second half which saw the Gamecocks frantically try to equal the score.”Playing three games in five days caught up to us in the second half,” Lee said. “Rachel Yepez left the game with a hamstring injury, and that certainly hurt our depth as well.”Senior defender Blakely Mattern played the hero for South Carolina when the game seemed all but decided. Mattern broke free on a give-and-go pass in the 88th minute and found the equalizer with a desperate shot using the outside of her foot to tie the game at one apiece.”We ran up out of position a little and got caught out of position,” Lee said. “South Carolina is a good team with great character, and Blakely Mattern is a great kid who is going to do anything to help her team win.”The teams played a tense 20-minute overtime period without scoring a game-deciding goal, and the Tigers prepared for another SEC tournament shootout after falling to Tennessee on penalty kicks in last season’s semifinals.The 64-team field for the NCAA tournament will be announced Monday night at 7 p.m. on ESPNews. South Carolina earned the SEC’s automatic bid by winning the tournament, and LSU expects to earn its third straight at-large bid. Lee said the Tigers, who have been ranked throughout the second half of the season, could host opening round games in the right circumstances.- – – -Contact David Helman at [email protected]