:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70121528/Soccer_SEC_Tournament.0.png)
Monday saw the LSU soccer team earn its seventh NCAA Tournament bid in program history and its first since 2018.
The Tigers will travel to take on Memphis for its opening round game, with kickoff scheduled for Sunday at 1:00 P.M. Should LSU advance they’ll play either Duke or Old Dominion in round two.
“Our body of work over the course of the season has shown the ability for us to compete against anybody in the country on our day,” head coach Sian Hudson said. “We’re going to go into this tournament ready to compete.
“We have a lot of experience on this team. Some players from the 2018 NCAA squad are still here and we have a few of our transfers that have prior NCAA Tournament experience as well. So we will lean on those experiences as we prepare for Memphis.”
The 2021 season has been an up and down year for the Tigers. LSU opened the year 8-0 and climbed to as high as No. 5 in the national polls before crashing back down to Earth with five straight losses. But Hudson’s squad was able to right the ship coming down the stretch, winning three of its final four regular season games including a 4-2 upset over No. 4 Arkansas. Per the soccer program, that was the highest ranked win in school history.
LSU had a pretty good showing in the SEC Tournament at Orange Beach. The Tigers were beat Georgia in penalty kicks in its tournament opener; and in its quarterfinal match, the Tigers played a valiant game in a rematch with Arkansas but came up short 2-1.
LSU is 2-5-2 all time in the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers also own a 4-3 edge over Memphis, with the last meeting coming in 2012.
The final four teams left standing from the field of 32 will compete in the Women’s College Cup which is scheduled for December 3 and 5 in Santa Clara.