BATON ROUGE — Seven NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago, a pair of pre-conference tournament appearances and a non-conference date with the Texas Longhorns highlight the LSU soccer team’s 2007 schedule released by head coach Brian Lee on Wednesday.
The Tigers kick off their fall slate at home against Southern Miss on Aug. 31 at 7 p.m. CDT, while they will battle Louisiana Tech for the first time in program history on Sept. 2 at 1:30 p.m.
The Tigers go on the road for the first time on Sept. 6 as they take on Conference USA power Memphis in the first match of the Samford Bulldog Classic in Birmingham, Ala., while they close the tournament with a game against the Miami Hurricanes on Sept. 8 at Bulldog Field.
LSU is also set to renew its rivalry with in-state foe McNeese State on Sept. 14 at 7 p.m. after not facing the Cowgirls during the 2006 season. McNeese State earned an automatic bid to compete in the NCAA Tournament a year ago after winning the Southland Conference Tournament.
Following its home match against the Cowgirls, LSU is scheduled to travel to the state of Texas to battle Houston on Sept. 16 at noon and national power Texas on Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. The Longhorns proved to be one of the nation’s top teams a year ago as they were awarded a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the Sweet 16.
The Tigers close their non-conference schedule in late September as they travel to Mt. Pleasant, S.C., to compete in a tournament hosted by the College of Charleston at Patriot’s Point. They are set to square off against the Cougars on Sept. 21 at 6:30 p.m. followed by a match against nearby Davidson on Sept. 23 at 11 a.m.
“We’ve put together a non-conference schedule that will serve dual purposes for our team this season,” Lee said. “First and foremost, it’ll prepare us for the rigors of SEC play. It will also put us in a position to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament should we not win our conference tournament at the end of the season.
“With five of our eight opponents coming from the ACC, Big 12 and Conference USA, we feel like this non-conference schedule will test our team and get us ready to make a run in the SEC.”
The Tigers welcome the Mississippi State Bulldogs to Baton Rouge and the LSU Soccer Complex on Sept. 28 at 7 p.m. as they open their SEC slate with a four-game homestand. They will then follow with a home match against the Ole Miss Rebels on Sept. 30 at 1 p.m.
Highlighting LSU’s home schedule for the 2007 season is a match against perennial SEC power Tennessee on Oct. 5 at 7 p.m. The Lady Volunteers finished the 2006 season ranked as high as No. 25 in the country after advancing to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament.
The Tigers have also home dates scheduled against SEC Eastern Division rivals Georgia and South Carolina late in the season. They are set to take on the Bulldogs on Oct. 7 at 1 p.m., while they will close out their 2007 home schedule against the Gamecocks on Oct. 25 at 7 p.m.
In addition to a difficult home slate, LSU will face perhaps the SEC’s toughest road schedule in the fall as they take on four squads that made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 2006, while also squaring off against the defending SEC regular season and tournament champions.
The Tigers face SEC Tournament champion Kentucky on Oct. 21 at the UK Soccer Complex, while they take on SEC regular season champion Florida on Oct. 28 at James G. Pressly Stadium. The Wildcats advanced to the first round of the NCAA Tournament with the Gators advancing to the Sweet 16 a year ago.
LSU kicks off a four-game SEC road swing on Oct. 12 against Auburn at the Auburn Soccer Complex followed by a match against Alabama on Oct. 14 at the Alabama Soccer Stadium. The squad then takes on postseason contender Vanderbilt on Oct. 19, while it wraps up the regular season on the road against Arkansas on Nov. 2.
“Every SEC game is going to be a battle for us this year,” Lee said. “There’s tremendous parity in the league right now. That was evident by the way the SEC race played out last year with five teams receiving an NCAA bid. The SEC is becoming a major player on the national stage, and we have a great amount of respect for everyone that competes in this league.”
The SEC Tournament makes its return to the Orange Beach Sportsplex in Orange Beach, Ala., from Nov. 7-11, while the first round of the 2007 NCAA Tournament is scheduled to begin on Nov. 16 at campus sites yet to be determined.