BATON ROUGE — The LSU women’s soccer team officially announced its 2003 schedule this week, which will begin on Aug. 29 when the Tigers square off with Coastal Carolina in the season-opener in Baton Rouge.
LSU will play 20 games, with 10 each at home and on the road. The Tigers will face nine Southeastern Conference opponents and 11 non-conference teams. LSU will face an always-difficult SEC schedule and several tough non-conference teams such as Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champion and three-time NCAA participant Loyola (Md.), Texas, and five in-state schools.
“I think we really have a fantastic schedule for this season with several great matches throughout the season,” said LSU head coach George Fotopoulos. “The SEC, as always is very good and we also play some great teams like Loyola and Texas out of conference as well as playing all the schools from Louisiana. This is going to be a very good schedule for our team.”
The Tigers will enter their ninth year of existence this season and will open the season with five-consecutive matches in Baton Rouge. After facing the Chanticleers of Coastal Carolina, LSU will square off with Jackson State, McNeese State, Birmingham Southern, and Loyola before hitting the road for six-straight matches. LSU will also be meeting five different teams for the first time in school history this season.
LSU will open SEC play on Oct. 3 with a match versus Kentucky in Lexington, Ky., and will then finish up the weekend with a 1 p.m. match at Vanderbilt on Oct. 5 to be shown live on SEC-TV. Other home matches include meetings with Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Georgia, and Tennessee. The final home match of the season is on Nov. 2 versus Christian Brothers at 2 p.m. The 2003 SEC Tournament will be held Nov. 6-9 in Orange Beach, Ala. and will feature the top eight teams in the conference.
All 10 home matches will feature a special promotion or theme planned by the Marketing and Promotions Department, including the “LSU Kickoff Tailgate Party” on Aug. 29, “Club Soccer Appreciation Night” on Sept. 5, “Totally 80’s Night” on Oct. 10, and “Soccer Mom Sunday” on Nov. 2 for the final home match of the season. All home matches will be played at the LSU Soccer Complex.
LSU is coming off of one of its best seasons in school history, as the 2002 Tigers won 12-5-3 and made the SEC Tournament for the fourth time in school history. LSU knocked off No. 1 seed Auburn in the first round of the tournament, becoming the first No. 8 seed to ever win a first-round match in tournament history. The Tigers return seven starters and feature their best recruiting class in the program’s history.
LSU will report to campus on Monday, Aug. 11, and will begin practice on Aug. 13 in preparation for the season-opener versus Coastal Carolina on Aug. 29 in Baton Rouge.