BATON ROUGE — Fans are invited to be a part of the largest crowd in the history of the LSU Soccer Complex on Friday as the Tigers play host to the Oklahoma Sooners in a match slated for a 7 p.m. kickoff as part of this year’s “Cram the Complex” campaign.
The Tigers are looking to break the existing attendance record of 2,402 set in a dominating 3-0 shutout of the sixth-ranked Tennessee Lady Volunteers back on Oct. 5, 2007.
Friday’s match also marks the first edition of the “Heads Up for the Cure” campaign as the Tigers join the Baton Rouge affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Foundation in the fight against breast cancer.
Tickets to the match are $1 and can be purchased online at LSUsports.net, while fans wearing pink for the game will receive free admission. As part of the event, the Tigers will wear special pink jerseys donated by Nike, while the first 1,000 fans arriving at the LSU Soccer Complex will receive a free pink pom-pom and a pink bracelet courtesy of Team LSU partner Ochsner.
Fans who are unable to attend Friday’s match can listen to a live radio broadcast online by logging on to www.totalsportsradio.com.
“We’re looking forward to a fun night of soccer in what is sure to be a great atmosphere,” said LSU head coach Brian Lee. “Oklahoma is a quality team and has gotten out to a fast start this season. It will be a big test for our team to come out and compete for 90 minutes. That is the challenge this week for our team.”
The Sooners enter the match 4-1-1 on the season after suffering a 3-1 defeat to Vanderbilt on Sunday. The side was previously unbeaten in five matches to start the 2009 campaign.
Junior forward Whitney Palmer leads the Sooner attack as she is the team’s leading scorer with six goals and 14 points in six matches this season. She has certainly shown the form that earned her a Second-Team All-Big 12 selection in 2008 while finishing the season as the team’s leading goal scorer with eight goals. Palmer has scored a total of 20 goals in her Oklahoma career.
She will be joined up front by sensational freshman Dria Hampton, who signed with the Sooners as one of the top 25 recruits in the country for the Class of 2008, according to two national recruiting publications. Hampton has scored two goals and four assists for eight points in six matches this fall.
“We will have to be on top of our game defensively because this is one of the more potent front lines that we are likely to see all year long,” Lee said. “Oklahoma has shown this year that they can score goals, and it is important for us to communicate and play as a team for the full 90 minutes.”
LSU enters Friday’s match with a three-game unbeaten streak after improving to 2-1-1 on the season with a thrilling 2-1 win over the South Florida Bulls in Tampa on Sunday afternoon.
Senior midfielder Melissa Clarke led the comeback with a pair of goals late in the second half for the win. After South Florida took a 1-0 lead on a penalty kick in the 64th minute of play, Clarke tied the game with her first goal in the 73rd minute before scoring the game-winner with just over two minutes to play. She is the team’s leading scorer this season with three goals and seven points in four matches.
Sophomore goalkeeper Mo Isom leads the defense as she posted her second clean sheet this fall and ninth of her career with a 0-0 draw against Central Florida on Friday night. She saved 13 shots in two matches a week ago while tying her career high with seven saves in LSU’s win over South Florida on Sunday.
After playing host to Oklahoma on Friday night, the Tigers will go back on the road Sunday to take on in-state rival Louisiana-Lafayette at the Ragin’ Cajuns Soccer Facility with kickoff set for 1 p.m.