BATON ROUGE — Head coach Brian Lee and the LSU soccer team wrapped up its first week of spring practice at the LSU Soccer Complex on Friday as it prepares to compete against arguably the nation’s toughest spring schedule that kicks off Feb. 16.
Lee has placed an emphasis on fitness and technical work with his club in the opening week of practice and said that his squad has come back from the semester break in shape and hungry to improve following a banner season in 2007.
“This has been a great first week of practice for our team,” Lee said. “The overall fitness level is much better than it was at this time last year, and that just shows the maturity of this club.
“I can tell after one week of practice that the girls have taken very good care of themselves since the end of the season and that they’ve come back ready to compete against some of the best teams in the country. We had a great season in the fall, but our kids are hungry to achieve even greater things in 2008. This spring will be the first step in our preparation for a great year.”
The Tigers are coming off of their most successful season in program history as they won their first ever SEC Western Division championship and earned a berth into the second round of the NCAA Tournament following a 1-0 overtime win over Samford in the opening round.
They are looking to build on that success in 2008 and begin their preparation with a challenging spring schedule featuring a pair of national powers from both the ACC and Big 12 Conference.
The Tigers open with a trip to Raleigh, N.C., as they take on ACC powers North Carolina and Duke in a double header on Feb. 16. The Tar Heels have won 18 national titles in their illustrious history and finished the 2007 season ranked as high as No. 6 after advancing to the Sweet 16, while the Blue Devils were ranked as high as No. 15 following an appearance in the Elite Eight.
LSU breaks for two weeks before traveling to College Station, Texas, on March 2 to take on Big 12 power Texas A&M at the Aggie Soccer Stadium. The Aggies wrapped up the 2007 campaign ranked as high as No. 13 nationally after advancing to the NCAA Second Round.
After traveling to Natchitoches, La., on March 12 to take on in-state rival Northwestern State, the Tigers wrap up the spring slate April 12 with a match against the Texas Longhorns in Houston.
The Tigers battled the fourth-ranked Longhorns to a 2-2 draw in Austin during the 2007 regular season as Texas finished the campaign ranked as high as No. 9 in the country following a trip to the NCAA Sweet 16. LSU will schedule a sixth exhibition game that has yet to be determined.
“We’ve put together a spring schedule that is certainly going to challenge our players every time they step on the field,” Lee said. “There is no better way to improve than through competition and we feel like our players have the best chance to improve by competing against the very best teams in the country. We’re looking forward to the challenge we face this spring.”