BATON ROUGE – The three-time defending SEC Western Division champion and 20th-ranked LSU soccer team is ready to kick off the 2010 regular season on Sunday afternoon as it plays host to the South Alabama Jaguars in a match scheduled for a 1 p.m. kickoff at the LSU Soccer Complex.
The Tigers have earned a preseason national ranking for the second year in a row after being tabbed as the No. 20 team in the country in the Soccer Times Preseason Top 25 released Friday.
Tickets to the game are $5 for adults and $3 for youths. Season tickets for LSU’s nine home matches also remain on sale and are $35 for adults and $15 for youths and can be purchased online at www.LSUtix.net. Fans can also purchase reserved season tickets in the midfield bleacher back seats for $50 per ticket.
Fans who are unable to attend Sunday’s highly anticipated season opener at the LSU Soccer Complex can listen to a live radio broadcast of the game online at www.totalsportsradio.com.
In addition, fans can receive in-depth and behind-the-scenes coverage of this year’s Tigers by becoming a fan of LSU Soccer on Facebook and following @LSUSoccer on Twitter.
“We’re excited about the opportunity to begin the season in front of our home fans,” said LSU head coach Brian Lee. “We have tremendous fans here at LSU. Over the past few years, they have helped us create an environment that is one of the most intimidating in college soccer. We expect nothing less from our home opener tomorrow afternoon. So, we invite our fans to come out and enjoy a great soccer match.”
Sunday’s season opener for LSU marks the ninth time it will battle South Alabama on the soccer pitch. In addition, it marks the third time that the Tigers will open their season against the Jaguars while posting a 2-0 mark in season openers and winning their last meeting with a 2-0 shutout to begin the 2008 campaign.
South Alabama (0-1) opened its 2010 slate on Friday night with a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Jackson State at the JSU Soccer Field. The Jaguars are coming off a 2009 season in which they finished 4-15-1.
While LSU will miss the services of an eight-member senior class that was instrumental in capturing three SEC West titles and competing in three NCAA Tournaments during their careers from 2006-09, the Tigers welcome back six starters from a club that matched the school record for wins with a 15-4-5 record and set a new school record with an 8-2-1 mark and 25 points in SEC play in 2009.
Among the leaders returning to the squad this year are senior captain Courtney Alexander, junior All-SEC defensive midfielder Allysha Chapman and junior goalkeeper and All-SEC hopeful Mo Isom.
But Sunday’s derby will also see the debut of a new generation of Tigers as the team welcomes a freshman group ranked among the Top 10 signing classes in the country for the 2010 recruiting campaign.
“This is an exciting time for our program,” Lee said. “We can’t say enough about the senior class we have all come to know and what they were able to accomplish during their careers here in the last four seasons. But our fans are exciting about seeing a new generation of LSU Tigers in action as I know they will work to continue the championship tradition that has now been established in our program.”
Sunday is Baton Rouge Soccer Association Day at the LSU Soccer Complex as members of the BRSA will receive free admission to the match by wearing their team jersey. The first 500 fans through the gates will also receive a free LSU soccer drawstring bag from the LSU Marketing & Promotions Department.