South Carolina nips LSU on penalty kicks

• S. Carolina nips LSU on penalty kicks
• Published: Nov 9, 2009

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ORANGE BEACH, Ala. — The 13th-ranked and No. 2-seeded LSU soccer team was denied its first SEC tournament championship on Sunday, dropping an 8-7 decision in a penalty kick shootout to No. 4-seeded South Carolina in the championship match at the Orange Beach Sportsplex.

The match ended in a 1-1 draw after two 10-minute overtime periods. It was the first appearance for both clubs in the SEC tournament final.

The Tigers (14-4-4) are in position to receive their third-straight at-large bid into the NCAA tournament.

The 64-team field will be announced at 7 tonight on ESPNews.

“South Carolina really deserved to win the game. They played very well and fought extremely hard to get that result,” LSU coach Brian Lee said in a news release. “You have to congratulate their team for the effort that they showed all game long.”

Senior Melissa Clarke scored LSU’s only goal on a penalty kick in the 24th minute of the first half. It was her team-leading 11th goal of the season.

Clarke, who scored three goals in three games, was named to the all-tournament team along with fellow seniors Malorie Rutledge and Nikki Bush.

The Tigers had a chance for the win until Gamecock defender Blakely Mattern scored the equalizer with just over two minutes remaining in the match.

LSU extended its unbeaten streak to four games against the Gamecocks (18-3-1) as the match is officially classified as a draw.

Volleyball

NO. 19 LSU FENDS OFF RAZORBACKS: Brittnee Cooper racked up 18 kills and seven blocks as the No. 19 LSU volleyball team notched a 3-2 victory — 25-22, 27-25, 14-25, 21-25, 15-10 — over Arkansas on Sunday at Barnhill Arena in Fayetteville, Ark.

Sam Dabbs had 46 assists and set the Tigers (20-5, 14-2 SEC) to a .389 hitting percentage in the fifth set. Angela Bensend had four of her 10 kills in the final set.

Arkansas (11-15, 5-10 SEC) was fueled by Jasmine Norton, who turned a solid all-around effort with a career-best 29 kills to go along with 17 digs, six blocks and four aces.