Call it the road blues.
While the LSU soccer team sits at 10-4-1 and 5-1 in the Southeastern Conference, its 3-4 road record leaves some question marks as four of the Tigers last five matches are away from home.
All four of the team’s losses have come outside of the friendly confines of the newly-renovated LSU Soccer Stadium. A 2-1 double-overtime loss at Vanderbilt on Friday marked LSU’s first defeat since dropping a 1-0 match at Rice on Sept. 2 — a nine-game unbeaten stretch.
The No. 18 Tigers used the home-field advantage to spur a 7-0-1 stretch during an eight-game home stand last month.
But LSU’s title hopes will ultimately rest on its road performance, continuing with a showdown at SEC West preseason favorite No. 15 Auburn (9-4-1, 3-3 SEC) on -Friday.
“Our goals start with the SEC West title,” said LSU coach Brian Lee. “[Auburn] has a win over [No. 4] Duke earlier this year. Clearly they can beat anyone in the country at home. So it’s easy to compartmentalize our focus with an obvious challenge and important match to things.”
After LSU’s 1-3 start to the season on the road, the Tigers’ 2-1 mark in their last three road matches has Lee encouraged with his squad’s progress as it hits the final half of conference play.
“Early, against [North Carolina] State and Rice, we played well enough to win, but just missed the chances near the net,” Lee said.
Lee moved senior Taryne Boudreau up to forward, increasing her scoring consistency, and the strong play of freshman Kaley Blades and juniors Natalie Ieyoub and Reyna Lubin has shored the team’s depth.
“That consistency and quality depth is how you become a complete team and win without your best stuff on the road,” Lee said.
 
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Contact Chris Abshire at [email protected]