BATON ROUGE — Nine months of off-season training have been in preparation for a single day for the defending SEC West champion LSU soccer team as the Tigers are set to kick off the 2008 season Friday at 7 p.m. as they welcome South Alabama to the LSU Soccer Complex.
The Tigers open the season with expectations like never before as they are the preseason favorite to defend their division crown according to the league’s 12 head coaches.
This marks the second straight season that LSU will open play in front of the hometown fans as it boasts a 9-4 record all-time in season openers. The Tigers opened the 2007 campaign with a 3-0 shutout of the Southern Miss Golden Eagles in front of a then record crowd of 1,828 fans.
An overflow crowd is expected once again as it is Baton Rouge Soccer Association Night as well as Tiger Soccer Camp Reunion Night at the LSU Soccer Complex. Members of the BRSA and the Tiger Soccer Camp will receive free admission to the game with the first 500 fans through the gate receiving a free LSU Soccer water bottle.
“We’ve been looking forward to this day for the last nine months, and we’re excited about the opportunity to open up the season in front of our great fans again this year,” said LSU head coach Brian Lee. “We’re coming off of a great season last year and an outstanding fall camp, and we’re all excited about building on the foundation that has already been established here at LSU.”
The Tigers are poised to repeat the success of last season as they return nine full-time starters off a squad that advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Jaguars will present a challenge in LSU’s season opener as they bring an experienced club to Baton Rouge with eight starters and 18 letterwinners from a team that finished with a winning 9-8-3 a year ago. South Alabama is led by preseason First-Team All-Sun Belt Conference selection Tiara Smith, who led the team with 11 goals and 28 points last fall.
LSU and South Alabama have met seven times on the soccer pitch with the Jaguars holding a narrow 4-3 advantage in the all time series. The Tigers dominated the Jaguars in the last meeting between the two schools, scoring a 3-0 shutout in Mobile in 2006.
“South Alabama will surely give our team a good test tomorrow night, especially with it being the season opener,” Lee said. “We’re expecting a big crowd out at the Soccer Complex, so we urge fans to get here early and enjoy what will be a great atmosphere for college soccer. It’ll be a great game between two quality programs and a great way for us to start the season.”
Fans can expect an exciting brand of soccer once again as the Tigers are sure to be led by a trio of returning All-Americans, including junior midfielder Malorie Rutledge, who was named to the 2008 Hermann Trophy Watch List as released by the Missouri Athletic Club on Tuesday.
Rutledge was named an Honorable Mention All-American by Top Drawer Soccer a year ago with junior forward Rachel Yepez and junior midfielder Michelle Makasini.
The Tigers will feature one of the more potent offensive attacks in the Southeastern Conference this season as they return all 43 goals and 127 of 128 points from a team that ranked third in the SEC in both categories in 2007. Yepez was the league’s leading goal scorer with 14 on the year, while Makasini and Rutledge combined for 13 goals and 41 points in the midfield.
The Tigers follow their showdown with the Jaguars on Friday night with a match against BYU on Monday as they play host to the Cougars at 7 p.m. at the LSU Soccer Complex.
The Cougars are a perennial contender in the NCAA Tournament and feature a Hermann Trophy candidate of their own in senior forward Katie Larkin. BYU has earned a berth into the NCAA Tournament in each of the last three seasons and are coming off of their fifth Mountain West Conference Tournament championship in program history.
For those fans unable to make it to the LSU Soccer Complex for the Tigers’ season-opening weekend, both matches against South Alabama and BYU will be broadcast live online at www.totalsportsradio.com with Jason Kelly on the call.”