BATON ROUGE – The LSU soccer team faces a tough road test when it travels to Memphis, Tenn., on Friday as it opens up the 2011-12 athletic season with a game against the four-time defending Conference USA Tournament champion Memphis Tigers at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex.
The University of Memphis will provide live streaming video of the match on its official athletics website for those who purchase a monthly premium subscription.
Fans can also receive live updates and behind-the-scenes coverage of Friday’s season-opening match after liking LSU Soccer on Facebook and following @LSUSoccer on Twitter. In addition, fans can follow with live in-game commentary throughout the match by joining the live chat on LSU’s Facebook page.
This marks the third-straight season in which LSU faces Memphis on the soccer pitch, and the second in a row in which the two Tigers will battle at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex.
“We expect a great road test tomorrow night as we open up our 2011 season against a very good team like Memphis,” said LSU head coach Brian Lee. “We’re going to learn a lot about our team right off the bat in this match. We’ll certainly need to play with great passion and intensity from the opening kick to earn this result in a place that is very difficult for opposing teams to play. It should be a great soccer match.”
Memphis opens the 2011 campaign as a four-time defending Conference USA Tournament champion and NCAA Tournament veterans following a 2010 season in which it posted a 15-4-3 overall record including a 1-0 shutout of LSU on Aug. 28 at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex.
LSU owns a winning mark of 3-2 all-time against Memphis, including its 7-2 rout for its last win over the opposition in a neutral site match at the Samford Bulldog Classic in Birmingham, Ala., in 2007. Memphis has secured two-straight 1-0 shutouts in Baton Rouge in 2009 and Memphis in 2010.
Memphis prepared for its 2011 campaign last weekend while playing Auburn to a 0-0 draw in a preseason exhibition match in 90 minutes of action at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex.
LSU returns one of the more talented rosters in the Southeastern Conference this fall, as 10 starters and 16 letterwinners return to kick off the 2011 campaign on Friday night. The Tigers will be led by a strong five-member senior class that includes two-time All-SEC selection Allysha Chapman, as well as four All-SEC hopefuls in Taryne Boudreau, Mo Isom, Natalie Martineau and Kellie Murphy.
The Tigers are looking to capitalize on a strong preseason training camp with a positive result for Friday’s match as the team is as fit and as healthy as it has been for a season opener in six previous seasons under Lee’s direction. In fact, a team record 11 Tigers broke six minutes in the team’s mile time trial fitness test held on the opening day of preseason training camp on Aug. 3.
“Our athletes have worked extremely hard this offseason and in training camp to put themselves in a good position to achieve great things this fall,” Lee said. “Deserving to win is always a big point of emphasis in our program. These kids have certainly shown that with their passion and desire to compete throughout an exciting preseason camp in preparation for the start of a new season.
“We look forward to a great match tomorrow night. Memphis is a consistent Top 20 caliber program with a wealth of experience. This will be a great test to see where we are as a team as we start the season.”
After battling the Memphis Tigers in its season opener on Friday night, LSU will head back on the road to Lafayette, La., on Sunday afternoon for an in-state derby against the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns in a 1 p.m. kickoff at the Ragin’ Cajuns Track & Soccer Stadium.