BATON ROUGE — With three spring matches already under its belt, the LSU soccer team will play host to its only home match of the spring exhibition season on Wednesday as they welcome Southeastern Louisiana to the LSU Soccer Complex for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.
The Tigers, who finished the 2008 regular season ranked No. 14 in the Soccer America Top 25, is unbeaten at 2-0-1 on the spring season as they continue their preparation for the 2009 season.
LSU opened the spring season with a dominating 3-0 shutout of Oklahoma State on Feb. 28. The Cowgirls were ranked as high as No. 7 nationally at the end of the 2008 regular season. LSU also drew Mississippi State, 1-1, and defeated Southern Miss, 1-0, in a double header on March 7.
“We’ve had a very productive spring to this point, and we look to continue in our development as a team tomorrow night,” said LSU head coach Brian Lee. “This spring has given many players on our team the opportunity to show what they can do in a number of different roles. They will have that same opportunity to compete when we kick it off tomorrow night.”
The Tigers have been impressive this spring, despite missing the services of the reigning SEC Player of the Year in junior midfielder Malorie Rutledge, another All-SEC midfielder in Taryne Boudreau and standout transfer Courtney Alexander, who was the Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year on offense following her sophomore season in 2007.
In their absence, two-time All-SEC midfielder Melissa Clarke has picked up the slack by leading the team with three goals in three spring exhibition matches.
Fans are invited to see the Tigers in action Wednesday night as it marks the only home exhibition match of the spring season. Admission is free, and season tickets for what is sure to be an exciting 2009 campaign will be on sale to those in attendance. The Tigers are the two-time defending SEC Western Division champions after advancing to their second-straight NCAA Tournament in 2008.
The Tigers follow Wednesday’s match with a trip to College Station, Texas, on April 4 to square off against BYU and Texas A&M in a double header at the Aggie Soccer Stadium. They will then wrap up the spring with an exhibition match against Auburn in Orange Beach, Ala., on April 18.