HOUSTON – The LSU soccer team opened its 2011 spring season on Saturday morning with a narrow 1-0 defeat at the hands of Big 12 Conference power Oklahoma State as part of the President’s Day Invitational hosted by the famed Challenge Soccer Club of Houston.
The Cowgirls netted the only goal of the match well into the second half when freshman Taylor Matthews buried a shot from the top of the box following an attempted clearance of an Oklahoma State corner kick.
After competing during the fall season with perhaps the most youthful lineup in the SEC, seven freshmen cracked LSU’s starting 11 on Saturday while battling one of the premier programs in women’s college soccer. Joining SEC All-Freshman Team selections Addie Eggleston and Megan Kinneman in the starting lineup were Nina Anderson, Jodi Calloway, Emily Cancienne, Shannon McLain and Alex Ramsey.
Calloway actually made her first career appearance in an LSU uniform as one of the team’s starting center backs after being forced to redshirt during the 2010 fall season. Calloway suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her knee last spring while competing with the Polaris Soccer Club.
“Oklahoma State is exactly the caliber of opponent our young team needs to compete against in the spring as we continue to prepare for the fall season,” said LSU head coach Brian Lee. “I thought we played very well. Nina Anderson was a handful and probably whipped in 10 or 12 crosses throughout the match, and I thought Shannon McLain was excellent. Taryne (Boudreau) also played well in her new midfield role.
“And we continue to be impressed with the play of Jodi Calloway at the back after missing all of last year with a torn ACL. She is going to be a tremendous asset for us in defense during her career here at LSU.”
Oklahoma State is coming off an impressive 2010 fall season in which it posted a 20-4-2 overall record en route to an Elite Eight appearance in the NCAA Tournament and No. 5 final ranking in the national polls. The Cowgirls secured a second-place finish in the final Big 12 Conference regular season standings ahead of winning the Big 12 Conference Tournament championship just three months ago.
In fact, Oklahoma State has captured the Big 12 Conference Tournament championship in each of the last two seasons, while adding the Big 12 regular season title to its trophy case in 2008.
“This is a very encouraging start to the spring season for our young team as we continue to get experience we will need as we look to join the SEC championship chase again in the fall,” Lee said. “Oklahoma State is an outstanding program that returns nearly its entire team that made the Elite Eight in the fall.”
The Tigers will be back in action next weekend as they return to the state of Texas on Feb. 26 to battle the SMU Mustangs in a match scheduled to kick off at noon CT at Westcott Field in Dallas. They will then return to Houston on March 26 to battle the Texas Longhorns as part of the Albion College Cup.