LSU’s soccer team was bounced from the Southeastern Conference tournament in the semifinal round this past weekend for the second-straight season.The Tigers’ quest for its first ever SEC championship came to an end Friday as the Tigers (14-3-2, 7-3-1) lost to Tennessee (9-10-2, 5-5-1), 4-2, on penalty kicks after a 1-1 draw.”It was a good game with an exciting finish,” said LSU coach Brian Lee. “Tennessee came out with great effort and determination tonight, and I thought played with a lot of fight for the full 110 minutes. We responded really well after halftime to come back and tie it up. We just couldn’t keep up the pressure and break through with a second goal down the stretch.”Tennessee struck 20 minutes into the game when defender Grace Cuenin knocked home a corner kick from short distance to put the Volunteers up 1-0.The Tigers went into halftime trailing but didn’t take long to rebound.Senior forward Roslyn Jones evened the score eight minutes after the break when she buried a short cross from junior midfielder Melissa Clarke. The goal tied the game at 1 and gave Jones a team-leading eight goals on the season.Goals were just as hard to come by in the shootout. Two LSU players missed to give Tennessee the 4-2 advantage and the win.Tennessee goal keeper Jamiel Johnson blocked shots from LSU’s Malorie Rutledge and Chelsea Potts, sealing the Tigers’ fate.”On penalty kicks, the goalkeeper always has the advantage because there’s no pressure on them,” Johnson said. “They always say that goalkeepers aren’t really supposed to make a save on penalty kicks, so when you do, it’s a bonus. I love penalty kicks, and I love pressure situations. I told my team that if they did their part, I’d do my part and make a save.”The loss is the third time in Lee’s tenure the Tigers have fallen in the SEC tournament to a team that also beat them in the regular season.Across the bracket, No. 1 seed and SEC regular season champion Florida fell to No. 4 seed Georgia on Saturday. The Gators fell, 3-0, to a Bulldog team which LSU defeated, 2-1, on Oct. 5.Now the Tigers must turn their attention to the NCAA tournament. Berths, hosts sites and seedings will be announced by the NCAA tonight at 7 p.m. on ESPNews.”We’re definitely looking forward to Monday,” Lee said. “We feel like we’ve done what we need to do to receive an at-large bid into the NCAA tournament for the second-straight season, and we will anxiously await our name to pop up on the screen while watching the selection show.”—-Contact David Helman at [email protected]