BATON ROUGE – Head coach Brian Lee and his coaching staff welcomed 24 student-athletes to campus Thursday as the three-time defending SEC Western Division champion LSU soccer team will open up fall camp Friday morning in preparation for its 2010 season opener against South Alabama on Aug. 22.
The Tigers will also prepare for a preseason exhibition fixture against the Texas Longhorns on Aug. 14 at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas. LSU defeated Texas, 2-1, in a preseason exhibition a year ago.
LSU has soared to unprecedented heights under Lee’s direction while picking up three-straight SEC West titles and finishing in second place in the final SEC standings in each of the last two seasons. Not only that, but the Tigers have earned an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament in three-straight seasons and played host to the NCAA First and Second Rounds a year ago as a No. 4 national seed.
“We are excited about the opportunity to get back out on the practice field and prepare for our opener that is now less than three weeks away,” Lee said. “It will be interesting to see what kind of identity this squad develops over the course of fall camp. It all starts for us tomorrow with a 6 a.m. conditioning test.
“While we must replace a large senior class from last fall, we have some very talented players back, along with one of the top recruiting classes in the country to give us a great mixture of youth and experience.”
LSU kicks off preseason training camp Friday morning with its first two-a-day practice at the LSU Soccer Complex as Lee will put his squad through a conditioning test and its first practice session at 7 a.m. followed by an afternoon training session at 3:30 p.m. All practices are open to the media and public.
The Tigers will travel to Austin, Texas, on Aug. 14 to take on the Texas Longhorns in an exhibition game before returning home to the LSU Soccer Complex on Sunday, Aug. 22, at 1 p.m. for the regular season opener against the South Alabama Jaguars. The squad will prepare for the start of the 2010 regular season with five two-a-days and 19 training sessions scheduled through the season opener.
LSU Soccer Season Tickets are now on sale and can be purchased for $35 for adults and $15 for youths at www.LSUtix.net. Reserve season tickets in the midfield bleacher backs can also be purchased for $50.
LSU Soccer Preseason Training Schedule
All practices will be held at the LSU Soccer Complex and are open to the public
Friday, Aug. 6
7 a.m. & 3:30 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 7
7 a.m. & 2 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 8
7 a.m.
Monday, Aug. 9
7 a.m. & 3:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Aug. 10
7 a.m. & 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Aug. 11
2 p.m.
Thursday, Aug. 12
7 a.m. & 7 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 13
6 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 14
10 a.m.
Monday, Aug. 16
7 a.m.
Tuesday, Aug. 17
1 p.m.
Wednesday, Aug. 18
7 a.m.
Thursday, Aug. 19
7 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 21
10 a.m.