BATON ROUGE — The LSU soccer team is set to kick off its 2002 home schedule on Wednesday, as the Tigers host the Loyola (N.O.) Wolfpack at 7 p.m. at the newly renovated LSU Soccer Complex.
“Anytime you play a school within your state, it’s a rivalry,” said LSU head coach George Fotopoulos. “We’ve never played Loyola before, so there’s no comparative record, but it’s our first home game and we’re hoping that we don’t have any mental lapses. Hopefully, we can stay focused and compete at a very high level.”
LSU enters Wednesday’s intrastate matchup with a 10-game undefeated streak against Louisiana schools, as well as a five-match winning streak versus in-state opponents at the LSU Soccer Complex. The Tigers have not been defeated by a Louisiana rival since 1999 against the Tulane Green Wave in New Orleans. Tulane was victorious, 3-0.
The Tigers head into their home-opening game of the season with a 2-1 overall record and are eager to play at home after defeating 15th-ranked Florida State, 2-1, on Sunday, With the victory, LSU set a school record by defeating its first opponent ranked among the nation’s top-15.
Loyola travels to Baton Rouge on Wednesday to compete in its fifth-consecutive road contest of the 2002 dual season. The Wolfpack owns an overall record of 2-2 and has played road contests in Shreveport, Pineville and twice in Jackson, Miss. In its most-recent contest, Loyola fell to Belhaven College, 2-0, on Saturday.
LSU is 19-6-1 against in-state opponents, but has never faced Loyola. The Tigers are also 5-2 in home openers and have not lost a home-opening match since 1997 against North Carolina State. LSU fell to North Carolina State, 2-0.
Wednesday’s intrastate contest between LSU and Loyola (N.O.) falls on Sept. 11, and will be recognized as Stars and Stripes Patriotic Night. LSU will pay tribute to the United States of America by wearing specially-made red, white and blue uniforms, while the LSU marketing department will also giveaway bandanas, visors, sunglasses, magnets and posters.
“We’re playing on Sept. 11, not as a celebration, but as a tribute to the heroes of Sept. 11,” Fotopoulos said. “It is also going to be a tribute to all of the great Americans that suffered losses on 9-11. We feel that through sports, it can be used as a window for us to show our appreciation and to pay our respects to the wonderful people of the United States of America.”
Honorary gameday activities will also include an authentic Baton Rouge fire truck, autographs from LSU athletes, a “Just for Kicks” area and a giant coffee cup.
“We also wanted to show our appreciation to all of the firemen, police officers and the armed forces by inviting them all to come to our game,” said Fotopoulos. “It will be known as a day of mourning, but we hope to use it as a day of tribute to all of the wonderful people that showed their courage, bravery and greatness.”