Sparked by goals in each half from junior Natalie Ieyoub in the 34^th minute and sophomore Addie Eggleston in the 62^nd minute, the LSU soccer team dominated 10^th-ranked Tennessee in a 2-0 shutout on a beautiful Friday night in front of 1,284 supporters at the LSU Soccer Stadium.

The Tigers (8-3-1, 3-0 SEC) have caught fire in recent weeks as they have now won five matches in a row while extending their unbeaten streak to eight-straight games with Friday’s 2-0 shutout of Tennessee. The squad is 7-0-1 during that span that dates back to a 2-1 road win at Houston on Sept. 6.

Not only that, but LSU is now unbeaten in its last four matches with the Lady Volunteers (8-3, 1-2) as it’s 3-0-1 since scoring a decisive 5-1 win in Baton Rouge during the 2009 regular season.

The Tigers have also enjoyed their share of success against nationally-ranked opponents at home in seven seasons under head coach Brian Lee as Friday’s win improved their mark to 5-4-5 against ranked teams at the LSU Soccer Stadium since 2005. That includes four victories against teams ranked among the nation’s Top 10 programs in matches held at the LSU Soccer Stadium since 2007.

LSU last knocked off a Top 10 team with a 1-0 shutout of 10^th-ranked South Carolina on Oct. 25, 2009. It also scored a 3-0 shutout of No. 6-ranked Tennessee on Oct. 5, 2007, and a 6-0 shutout over No. 8-ranked Georgia on Sept. 25, 2009, over the past five seasons.

The Tigers have come up big against Top 10 opponents during that span as they own a 4-3-2 mark in such matches since scoring their first win over an opponent ranked among the nation’s Top 10 in 2007.

“This was a big win for us against an excellent team,” Lee said. “It was really a good night for our offense over the course of 90 minutes. We really have a lot of options from the attacking perspective, so it’s great to see players like Natalie Ieyoub and Addie Eggleston getting involved on the scoresheet. We were great tonight going forward and finished a couple of great opportunities that we created in the run of play.”

Ieyoub opened the scoring for the Tigers just under 34 minutes into the match with her second goal of the campaign after her side had threatened to break through from the opening kickoff.

After senior Natalie Martineau collected the ball down going forward the right side, she centered a pass to redshirt freshman Kaley Blades running free down the center of the pitch. Blades then played a wonderful diagonal ball to an open Ieyoub on the left side of the field just beyond the penalty area. Ieyoub cut inside and fired a right-footed strike from 20 yards that dipped just under the crossbar and into the net.

Martineau was credited with an assist on Ieyoub’s breakthrough as she has now dished out a team-leading seven assists on the campaign, including at least one assist in each of the last six matches.

Senior goalkeeper Mo Isom was called into action in the 60^th minute to preserve the 1-0 lead as Tennessee striker Emily Dowd fired a strike from about 10 yards that forced Isom to dive to her right and redirect the ball just wide of the left post and out of play for a corner kick.

The Tigers cleared away Tennessee’s subsequent corner kick that led to the second goal of the match on a counter attack going the other way.

Senior Allysha Chapman stole possession from one of Tennessee’s defenders following the clearance and led a three-on-two break for the Tigers going the other way. After making a 30-yard run through the middle of the field, Chapman played a diagonal ball to Eggleston as she raced toward the area at what was left of Tennessee’s back line. Eggleston took two strong touches into the box across the face of goal while forcing Tennessee goalkeeper Julie Eckel to come off her line for the challenge.

Eggleston slotted the ball past Eckel from about eight yards out for her second goal of the year to push the Tigers’ lead to 2-0 at the 61:10 mark of the second half.

Isom came up with two saves on the night to pitch her fourth shutout of the 2011 season and the 26^th clean sheet of her illustrious career, moving her into a tie for the No. 6 position on the SEC’s all-time list.

The LSU defense stood strong all night while limiting Tennessee to just seven shots in the match with just two shots on goal. The Tigers countered with 14 total shots and four shots on goal on the night.

The Tigers wrap up their eight-game homestand on Sunday afternoon as they welcome Georgia to town in a match that is set to kick off at 1 p.m. CDT at the LSU Soccer Stadium. The Bulldogs enter the contest at 8-3 on the season with a 2-1 mark and six points in SEC play following Friday’s 1-0 win at Arkansas. The Bulldogs are also a perfect 5-0 on the road during the 2011 campaign.

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