A spot in the Southeastern Conference Tournament has always been the primary goal for the Lady’Back soccer team.

Last weekend, the team’s first win over Georgia in a decade put that goal within reach.

Sophomore striker Lindsay Patterson scored both of Arkansas’ goals and senior goalkeeper Carrie Dillsaver tallied seven saves in the Lady’Backs’ 2-1 victory.

Standing at 2-3-0 in conference and 9-4-0 overall, the Lady’Backs are within striking distance of qualifying for their first SEC Tournament since 2000.

The Lady’Backs success follows the strong play of Dillsaver, who has five shutouts on the season, and senior midfielder Christina Burger, who has led Arkansas to fourth on the SEC charts in team goals.

Burger has scored at least one goal in her last five home matches, tied for the longest such streak in school history,

Today at 7 p.m., Arkansas can move three points closer to the Orange Beach, Ala., tournament with a win over Alabama (5-9-0, 1-5-0 SEC).

“I think that it’s looking to be a very important game for us,” Arkansas Head Coach Gordon Henderson said. “I think our players know that it’s going to be a battle – it always is against Alabama.”

The Crimson Tide had traditionally played tough against Arkansas.

The two teams have split their last six meetings, with Arkansas winning 2-1 in Tuscaloosa, Ala., last season.

Alabama fell into hard times after rising to the heights of soccer power during the nineties.

The Tide’s only points of the 2006 conference campaign came in a 1-0 victory over a hapless Mississippi State last weekend.

Alabama has given up 1.93 goals per game this season while scoring only 1.07, with both statistics ranking second to last in the conference.

Nearly mirroring the averages of the Crimson Tide, the Lady’Backs have scored 1.92 per game and allowed an average 1.08 goals.

One category in which the Crimson Tide has done better than the Hogs in the SEC is rough play. Alabama has accumulated the most fouls of any team in the conference this season, and has more than doubled every other team in yellow cards.

On Sunday at 1 p.m., the Lady’Backs will again take the home pitch against a stout Auburn Tigers (8-3-2, 2-2-2 SEC) team.

Last season, Arkansas came home from the Plains disappointed with a 2-1 double overtime loss at Auburn.

“Auburn is legitimately one of the top four teams in the SEC this year,” Henderson said.

The Tigers rolled to a 6-1 non-conference record to begin the season, highlighted by a No. 10 ranking and a win over now No. 18 William & Mary, who has not lost another match this season.

However, Auburn fell in consecutive home matches against Florida and South Carolina to begin SEC play, and has since struggled to keep pace with SEC West leader Ole Miss.

Sunday’s match promises to be a low-scoring defensive battle pairing two of the conference’s premier goalkeepers.

Led by keeper Allison Whitworth, Auburn has allowed only eight goals in 13 contests this season – the best average in the conference – and has pitched seven shutouts.

Despite the emphasis on defense, Auburn is capable of putting goals on the board.

The Tigers scored six in their last outing, a home shutout against Mississippi State.

Right now, Arkansas is one point behind Kentucky for the eighth and final tournament spot, with three points awarded for each win and one point for each tie.

The point total to beat for a place in the SEC Tournament has traditionally fallen near 10, but this season could be tougher, Henderson said.

“We’re at six. This year, I don’t even know that 12 points is going to be enough to get in,” Henderson said. “We have to pass 12 points. That’s definitely the mindset that we moving forward with.”

This weekend’s matches will be the first to be broadcast live in Spanish by La Tremenda, a local radio station with frequencies 96.7 and 99.5 FM.

“Soccer truly is the world’s game, and this gives us a chance to reach another segment of the community,” Henderson said.

Carlos Chicas, the sports director of La Tremenda, will call the play-by-play.

“In the Latino Community we breathe, eat, and dream about soccer, and we come from places where we listen to soccer matches over the radio,” Chicas said. “[La Tremenda] would like to become the Voice of the Lady Razorbacks in Spanish.”

The matches will be webcast live with video and English audio on Ladybacks.com.