It’s officially crunch time for an LSU soccer team set on winning its first Southeastern Conference championship.The No. 15 Tigers (9-3-2, 5-1) currently sit atop the SEC West standings after pulling out a comeback win against Vanderbilt on Sunday and have a chance to extend that lead with a win against second-place Ole Miss tonight at the LSU Soccer Complex. The No. 21 Rebels (9-3-1, 3-1-1) are the only other team in the SEC Western Division with a winning conference record and are LSU’s main roadblock on its way to a third-straight SEC West championship.”If we can get a win Friday night with just a few games left, we can establish ourselves as an SEC championship contender,” said LSU coach Brian Lee. “A win would also be a big step toward the SEC West championship.”LSU suffered its first SEC setback of the season last weekend in a 1-0 loss to Kentucky — a game that was played in water-logged condition after a series of storms. Lee said it was good to play the game rather than postpone it because of the weather.Ole Miss is coming off a 1-1 road draw with Tennessee, but the Rebels can showcase wins against No. 17 Florida and No. 21 Georgia on their résumé.Rebel senior defender Danielle Johnson was instrumental in both wins, setting up the game-winning goal against Florida and scoring the game-winner against Georgia.A three-time All-SEC selection and Parkview Baptist graduate, Johnson’s trip to LSU will be a homecoming of great importance to the Rebels’ championship hopes.”Every game, she has an impact, whether it’s defensively or whether it’s on the attack,” said Ole Miss coach Steve Holeman in a news release. “She’s a difference maker. She’s been a huge part of our success in every game of her career.”The Tigers may be without senior forward Rachel Yepez for the third-straight game when Ole Miss arrives in Baton Rouge. Yepez tweaked her ankle in the team’s 2-0 win against Auburn on Oct. 4, and Lee described her as a game-time decision for Friday.”It’s a slow process. It’s annoying because I want to be better right now,” Yepez said. “I’m in the training room three to four hours at a time trying to rehab it … It’s so frustrating.”LSU could look to junior midfielder Courtney Alexander to help replace Yepez’s five goals and four assists if the ankle isn’t ready for Friday. Alexander has found a home at the team’s left back position but has moved forward to spark the offense against Duke and Vanderbilt.”It will probably be Courtney and a mix of kids,” Lee said. “Courtney is pretty versatile and has played great, but we’re also OK with our freshmen. The kids coming in [off the bench] are doing just fine.”The Tigers play host to the SEC’s other Mississippi representative Sunday — the Mississippi State Bulldogs.The Bulldogs (8-4-2, 0-4-2) were off to a phenomenal 8-0 start until SEC play began, as they dropped their conference opener, 5-1, to Auburn and have failed to notch a league win so far.But Lee said the Tigers can’t afford to take their Sunday game lightly. The Bulldogs have gutted out 1-1 draws with both Florida and No. 5 South Carolina — two of the SEC’s hottest teams.”We’ve certainly got a lot of respect for Mississippi State. They’ve got ties against two top-10 teams,” Lee said. “The second you overlook someone, you’re going to lose points, and luckily we’ve got an experienced team that understands that.”Speaking of the Gators and Gamecocks, Lee and company would be wise to maximize their results during their last two-game home weekend of the season. The Tigers’ next two contests are a road trip to play defending conference champion Florida — a team LSU has yet to defeat during Lee’s tenure — and the home finale against undefeated South Carolina.—-Contact David Helman at [email protected]