TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The LSU soccer team is prepared for the challenge of facing two 2001 NCAA Tournament teams this weekend, as the Tigers travel to Tallahassee, Fla., to compete in the Seminole Invitational against both Miami and 10th-ranked Florida State.
“We’re just really excited about the entire weekend in general,” said LSU head coach George Fotopoulos. “We’re playing two extremely good soccer teams and its going to be good to gauge ourselves against them. “Both Miami and Florida State qualified for the NCAA Tournament last season and they have extremely talented teams this year.”
LSU heads into Friday’s non-conference battle against the Miami Hurricanes with an early 1-0 overall record. The Tigers opened the season by shutting out Stephen F. Austin, 2-0, on Saturday. With the win, LSU earned its fifth-consecutive, season-opening victory and improved to 2-0 all-time against SFA.
The victory also moved Fotopoulos into first place on LSU’s all-time win list as the third-year head coach surpassed the Tigers’ former coach Miriam Hickey. With the 2-0 win, Fotopoulos recorded the 23rd victory of his LSU career.
Miami also travels to Tallahassee, Fla., on Friday in possession of an undefeated record. The Hurricanes enter the game with a 2-0 mark after handily defeating both South Florida and Stetson. Miami dominated Stetson, 7-0, in its season-opener before dropping South Florida, 5-1, at home on Sunday.
“The girls are definitely excited to play this weekend,” Fotopoulos said. “They played well against Stephen F. Austin and I think that we had a pretty good week of practice. It’s just going to be good for us to play these teams, because they are both from some very powerful conferences and it will be good to see how we stack up.”
The matchup between LSU and Miami will mark the first time that the teams have faced each other. The Tigers have played in the state of Florida three times and once at the Seminole Soccer Complex. LSU was defeated by Florida in both 1995 and 1999, while the Florida State Seminoles knocked off the Tigers in 1997.
The LSU soccer team will begin play in the Seminole Invitational versus Miami at 3:30 (CDT) on Friday here in Tallahassee, Fla. The home-standing Florida State Seminoles and Missouri Tigers will follow the contest with a game scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.