The No. 20 LSU soccer team isn’t letting last weekend’s phenomenal performance overshadow its ultimate goal.
 
“The rankings don’t matter at all,” said LSU coach Brian Lee. “We’ve got one focus — we’re trying to win the [Southeastern Conference].”
 
LSU travels to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to take on Alabama (5-3-3, 1-0-0) on Friday and to Auburn, Ala., on Sunday to battle Auburn (4-3-3, 1-1-0) .
 
After a spectacular 6-0 victory against then-undefeated Georgia and a 5-1 win against Tennessee, the Tigers (6-2-2, 2-0-0) understand they can’t be pompous to maintain success.
 
“After big wins, we can’t get a big head,” said senior forward Rachel Yepez. “We have to focus one game at a time and forget about the last one.”
 
Lee said in order to be successful, the team can’t overlook any opponent.
 
“Our entire focus is on Alabama on Friday night, and Saturday morning, we’ll turn our focus to Auburn,” Lee said.
 
Sophomore defender Allysha Chapman and senior midfielder Melissa Clarke have been slowed by injury, but Lee said they will be able to play this weekend.
 
Alabama hasn’t played an SEC game after last weekend’s matches against Mississippi State and Ole Miss were postponed because of rain. The Crimson Tide made up the game against Mississippi State last night defeating the Bulldogs 1-0.
 
Auburn beat Mississippi State, 5-1, and suffered a double overtime 3-2 loss to Ole Miss last weekend.
 
Lee said at this point it’s impossible to determine whether Alabama or Auburn offers the toughest matchup.
 
“Every SEC game is such a difference,” Lee said. “They’re all their own entity in terms of how they play and formations and systems and playing philosophies. They’re both difficult. It’s just how we handle the challenge that day.”
 
Lee said playing on the road in the SEC is tougher because the fan support surpasses that of other conferences.
 
“Specifically in the SEC, there’s a big home field advantage for everybody,” Lee said. “In other conferences [such as] the Pac-10 and ACC, it’s probably not the same.”
 
Yepez said despite fans traveling well, there is nothing like having a home field advantage.
 
“We actually have a lot of fans at away games,” Yepez said. “It’s most of our parents, obviously. But I think the home crowd really gets us going and makes us a lot more excited.”
 
Yepez said LSU has struggled on the road in years past, and the Tigers are looking to reverse misfortune.
 
Last season the Tigers had a 2-2-1 record in SEC road games.
 
“We had a great first weekend, so we know what we’re capable of, and we just have to continue to do that,” Yepez said.
 
Lee said when going on the road the team’s abundance of senior experience should be beneficial.
 
“They’ve been to the venues and the towns,” Lee said. “Hopefully they’ve got more of a comfort level, and they know what to expect.”
 
Yepez said she has been impressed with the freshmen’s ability to play big roles on the team but knows it’s a new experience for them.
 
“It’s important for [the seniors] to step up and lead by example,” she said.
 
Yepez said the Tigers will be unstoppable if they play with the intensity they did last weekend.
 
“We have to keep our style of play no matter what field we’re on,” she said.- – – -Contact Rowan Kavner at [email protected]