For the second season in a row, LSU will play in the NCAA tournament.The Tigers (14-3-2) received an at-large bid after failing to win the Southeastern Conference tournament and will travel to College Station, Texas, to play Washington in the first round. “We’re excited,” said LSU coach Brian Lee. “The NCAA tournament is gravy time. All you want to do during the regular season is put yourself in a position to make the NCAA’s and give yourself a chance to really accomplish something.”LSU has never faced Washington and is unfamiliar with the opponent, but players are confident Lee will formulate an effective game plan before the teams face off Friday night. “We don’t know too much about Washington, so we don’t know what to expect,” said junior midfielder Malorie Rutledge. “Hopefully Brian can get a little something for us on Washington.”This is only the second year in the field of 64 for LSU.The Tigers were in the second to last group of teams to be announced, but players said they weren’t nervous when they saw other teams announced before them.”We were just anticipating it for so long,” said junior forward Rachel Yepez. “But we’re excited to see where we’re going.”If the Tigers win their first game, they are confident they can defeat their second round opponent, possibly Texas A&M.LSU lost to Texas A&M, 1-0, in an exhibition game in the spring.”It’s a game we’d be comfortable with,” Lee said. “[They are] a team with a similar playing style to ours, and sometimes we’re not the most physical team in the country, and probably neither is A&M, so it would be an attractive soccer game.”The overall No. 1 seed in the tournament is Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish are undefeated and are a host site for the tournament. The other three No. 1 seeds are Stanford, UCLA and North Carolina — the top seed in LSU’s bracket. In addition to LSU, five other SEC teams advanced to the tournament, including Auburn, Georgia, South Carolina, Florida and SEC tournament champion Tennessee. “We think it’s one of the best conferences in the country,” Lee said. “The daily grind in the SEC is tougher than the ACC and the Pac-10 and the Big Ten because it’s such a physical conference, and hopefully it prepares all of our teams mentally.”—-Contact Johanathan Brooks at [email protected]