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ORANGE BEACH, Ala. -- A spot in the SEC Tournament final will be on the line Friday when the 13th-ranked and No. 2-seeded LSU soccer team battles SEC West rival and No. 6-seeded Auburn in the first of two semifinal matches to be held at the Orange Beach Sportsplex with kickoff set for 5 p.m. CT.

LSU (13-4-3) earned a spot in the semifinal round with a decisive 4-2 win over No. 7-seeded Vanderbilt in the opening round on Wednesday, while Auburn (10-7-3) downed No. 3-seeded Ole Miss by a score of 2-1 to set up a showdown between SEC West heavyweights.

The winner of Friday’s match will advance to face either No. 1 seed Florida or No. 4 seed South Carolina in the SEC Tournament final on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. CT.

LSU earned a 2-0 shutout of Auburn at the Auburn Soccer Complex on Oct. 4 of this season and will kick off Friday’s match with a three-game unbeaten streak in the series.

“We know we are going to get a great challenge from Auburn as we always do. It’s a big rivalry game for both teams, and that environment is sure to be magnified in a tournament atmosphere like this,” said LSU head coach Brian Lee. “It’s important that we match their effort and intensity for the full 90 minutes if we hope to advance to the final. We must compete from start to finish. It’s that simple.”

By scoring four goals in its first-round win over Vanderbilt on Wednesday, LSU set a new team record at the SEC Tournament as it had never scored more than two goals in 10 previous matches in the event. That included a pair of first-half goals by senior All-SEC midfielder Melissa Clarke.

Clarke, who earned her third career Second-Team All-SEC selection on Tuesday, scored LSU’s first goal in the ninth minute of play followed by its third goal and eventual game-winner in the 42nd minute. Clarke is now the team’s leading goal scorer this season with a career high 10 goals on the campaign.

The Tigers also received goals from sophomore Kellie Murphy in the 19th minute and SEC All-Freshman Team selection Carlie Banks in the 55th minute in the win.

By defeating Ole Miss by a 2-1 margin in Wednesday’s opening round, Auburn advanced to the semifinal round for the first time since 2005 and earned its first win against the Rebels since 2004. LSU is 1-0-1 all-time against Auburn in the SEC Tournament, including a 2-2 draw while advancing to the semifinals with penalty kicks in their last postseason meeting in 2007.

Friday’s match will feature a live video stream free on the SEC’s website at SECsports.com. A semifinals match between No. 1 seed Florida and No. 4 seed South Carolina will follow at 7:30 p.m. CT.