BATON ROUGE — Junior midfielder Caroline Vanderpool returned to Baton Rouge after competing with the Canadian National Team in the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Championships and joined the LSU soccer team for its 8:30 p.m. practice at the LSU Soccer Complex.
Vanderpool missed the Tigers’ season opener against SMU on Friday as she returned to her home country from the site of the World Championships in Moscow, Russia.
She will appear in her first match of the 2006 season when the Tigers take the field against UL-Lafayette in the team’s home opener Tuesday at 7 p.m.
“I’m excited about getting back on the field and playing with my teammates again this fall,” Vanderpool said. “I’ve kept in touch with (head coach) Brian (Lee) and some of the girls since I’ve been gone, and I can’t wait to get back on the field with them. I just want to work hard and help this team get better in any way I can.”
Vanderpool saw action as an outside defender in every minute of group play competition as Canada failed to advance to the quarterfinals after finishing with a 1-2-0 overall record. The team sandwiched a 2-0 shutout of Finland on Aug. 20 between a 3-2 defeat to Nigeria on Aug. 17 and a 1-0 shutout at the hands of China on Wednesday.
“It was definitely an exciting experience to represent my country in an event like this, but I’m disappointed we weren’t able to advance,” Vanderpool said. “It was a great opportunity for me to compete against some the best teams in the world, and I hope that I’m invited to play with the team again in the future.”
The Tigers follow Tuesday’s match against UL-Lafayette with their first home weekend of the season with matches scheduled against Sam Houston State on Friday at 7 p.m. and Houston on Sunday at 1 p.m.