by Will Stafford, Associate Sports Information Director
BATON ROUGE -- A pair of Southeastern Conference heavyweights will square off Thursday when the 14th-ranked LSU soccer team travels to James G. Presly Stadium in Gainesville to take on the 12th-ranked Florida Gators in a matched scheduled to kick off at 6 p.m. CT.
Members of the Geaux Zone have the opportunity to watch live streaming video of the match as provided by the University of Florida and its GatorVision broadcast.
The Tigers (10-3-3, 6-1-1 SEC) enter Thursday’s match in a tie with South Carolina for the top spot in the SEC standings as both sides have earned 19 points in conference play. The Gators (11-4-2, 5-1-2) are just two points back in third place on the SEC table with 17 points.
Florida earned a narrow 2-1 victory in Baton Rouge on Oct. 26, 2008, in the last meeting between the two sides en route to winning its third-straight SEC regular season championship.
“We have a tremendous amount of respect for Florida and what their program has accomplished, and they have proven to be one of the best teams in the country again this season,” said LSU head coach Brian Lee. “They are always very tough at home, so we certainly have our work cut out for us to come back to Baton Rouge with a result. We must work hard and compete for the full 90 minutes to reach that goal.
“A match like this featuring two teams with championship aspirations is exactly what you look forward to as a competitor. We are certainly looking forward to a very competitive match tomorrow night.”
After scoring a pair of goals in LSU’s 4-0 win over Mississippi State on Sunday, striker Carlie Banks was named the SEC Freshman of the Week for the second time this season. Banks is the top goal scorer in SEC play as she has scored all six of her goals this season in eight conference games.
Sunday was also a historical day for sophomore goalkeeper Mo Isom as posted her 16th career clean sheet to become LSU’s all-time leader in career shutouts. Isom is the top-ranked goalkeeper in the SEC this fall as she boasts the top goals against average in the league at 0.37 in conference play.
LSU enters Thursday’s match with the No. 1 offense and the No. 1 defense in the SEC as the Tigers have scored a league-best 22 goals while limiting opponents to a league-low three goals in conference play.
The Gators feature a diverse attack of their own as four players have scored at least five goals this season. Lindsay Thompson is the team’s leading scorer with eight goals and 17 points, while Tahnai Annis, Brooke Thigpen and Erika Tymrak have added five goals apiece to the SEC’s second-leading attack that’s scored 36 goals this season with 19 goals in conference play.
“It’s going to be a great match between two of the top offensive and defensive teams in the SEC. It’s very important that we take advantage of the opportunities we have in the match to get a result,” Lee said. “It’s something that is easier said than done against a quality team like Florida on their home turf.”
After battling the Gators on Thursday, the Tigers will return home on Sunday afternoon to play host to the South Carolina Gamecocks at 2:07 p.m. CT in a match scheduled for a live broadcast on ESPNU.








































