BATON ROUGE – With the start of the 2011-12 athletic season now just 16 days away, head coach Brian Lee and the members of his coaching staff welcomed 27 student-athletes to campus Tuesday as the LSU soccer team opens its preseason training camp Wednesday morning in preparation for a 2011 season opener on the road against the Memphis Tigers on Aug. 19.
The Tigers will battle the four-time defending Conference USA Tournament champions from Memphis in an Aug. 19 clash at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex in Memphis with kickoff set for 7 p.m. CDT.
The Tigers are anxious to open their new stadium with teams and fans alike having a chance to experience the LSU Soccer Complex like never before in 2011. The LSU Soccer Complex received a facelift over the offseason with a brand new stadium ready to feature some of the nation’s best college soccer action.
The stadium will open for the first time on Friday, Sept. 9, as the Tigers play host to the Oregon Ducks of the Pac 12 Conference with kickoff set for 7 p.m. It’s a match that comes just one week after the Tigers kick off the 2011 college football season against Oregon in a battle of what is sure to feature a pair of top-five teams in the Cowboys Classic on Saturday, Sept. 3, at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Fans can now “Geaux Free!” to see the Tigers compete at the brand new LSU Soccer Complex in 2011 as admission is free to each of LSU’s nine home matches this fall.
“We’ve all been looking forward to this day as we now turn our full attention on preparing for the start of a new season against a very good Memphis team in a little over two weeks from now,” Lee said. “Our players have done a tremendous job during the offseason in preparing themselves for this day. We’re very excited about the opportunity to get back on the practice field and come together as a team.
“This team has some good experience coming back, which we did not have a year ago at this time. We’ve got a very talented senior class to lead us, but also some very talented underclassmen as well.”
While the Tigers welcome the return of a talented six-member senior class that will provide the leadership and foundation of another talented squad, the club features a youthful crop of 17 underclassmen that is set to compete as sophomores and freshmen assuring a bright future for the program.
As part of Tuesday’s reporting, LSU’s incoming class of eight true freshmen spent the morning moving in with their teammates at West Campus Apartments on the university campus. The team then convened this afternoon for drug testing, before participating in a series of preseason meetings with the LSU compliance office, academic center and training room as it prepares for training camp.
Following the events of the day, the Tigers held their first team meeting at 7 p.m. before enjoying the first team dinner together ahead of its first scheduled two-a-day practice of the fall on Wednesday.
The Tigers are scheduled to train for the first time at 6 a.m. CDT on Wednesday morning as Lee conducts a conditioning test before focusing on technical work, individual defending and small group possession. They will then train again at 7 p.m. with a focus on speed of play and leading into 11-on-11 scrimmaging.