It took all of 57 seconds for the LSU soccer team to move back into the Southeastern Conference title race Sunday at the LSU Soccer Complex.Fresh off a 4-0 thumping at the hands of No. 17 Florida, the No. 14 Tigers (11-4-3, 7-2-1) raced to a first-minute lead against No. 9 South Carolina in a 1-0 win that re-established their hopes of winning SEC hardware. “South Carolina is a great character team. You don’t go 15-1 without character, and they were going to fight to the end,” said LSU coach Brian Lee.The Gamecocks (15-2-1, 7-2-1) entered Sunday’s game leading the SEC but now find themselves in a three-way battle for the conference championship.Florida could win the conference outright with a win against the Gamecocks on Friday, while LSU could split or win the SEC with a win against Arkansas and a Florida draw or loss.”We’ll certainly be rooting [for South Carolina], but we have to take care of our own business,” Lee said.Senior midfielders Melissa Clarke and Malorie Rutledge combined to create the Tigers’ early advantage, which has often been the case this season. Rutledge raced down the left sideline and crossed to freshman forward Carlie Banks, who laid off to Clarke for an open score before the Gamecocks had even settled into position.”The goal there was something we do almost every day in practice … and for Malorie and [Clarke] it’s every day for four years,” Lee said. “That’s just good soccer — creating chances, moving the ball and getting to the end line.”South Carolina, which entered the game allowing the fewest goals in the conference, recovered to allow just eight total shots in the game, but the damage had been done in LSU’s first attack of the afternoon.”The first five minutes and the last five are always the most important in a game,” Clarke said. “If you start putting a lot of pressure on a team you might get lucky, and we got really lucky.”The Gamecocks started the second half with a flurry of their own, creating several chances of their own, but South Carolina sophomore defender Ellen Fahey marred the comeback bid in the 58th minute when she earned a red card after bringing down Banks in the Gamecocks’ penalty area.LSU struggled to hold off a Gamecocks’ rally even with a one-player advantage. It seemed South Carolina senior midfielder Lindsay Small had equalized after 70 minutes of play when LSU senior forward Amanda Carreno cleared a certain goal off the Tigers’ line.The close call was one of just four shots on goal the Tigers allowed all afternoon.”The back line has been together, besides me, for all four years,” said junior midfielder Courtney Alexander. “They’re finally senior. They know how to play, and they know where to go for each other.”The drama continued until the very end, as the Tigers held off near-goals in the 83rd, 87th and 90th minutes, holding off frantic South Carolina attacks up until the final whistle.”They were putting the pressure on,” Clarke said. “With the way they were playing, it was just smarter for us to put more people behind the ball, and it worked.”—-Contact David Helman at [email protected]