BATON ROUGE – Following their season-opening win against the Oregon Ducks at Pape Field in Eugene on Friday, the Tigers are ready to open up a five-game homestand on Tuesday as they welcome Northwestern State to Baton Rouge for their 2015 home opener that is scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m. CT at the LSU Soccer Stadium.
Fans can “Geaux Free!” to each of LSU’s 12 home matches during the 2015 regular season as admission is absolutely free at the LSU Soccer Stadium once again this season, compliments of The Advocate.
Fans who are unable to attend the game are invited to follow the action on social media as they can receive live updates for LSU’s home opener by following @LSUSoccer on Twitter at http://twitter.com/lsusoccer and Instagram at http://instagram.com/lsusoccer and by liking the LSU Soccer page on Facebook at http://facebook.com/lsusoccer.
The Tigers are looking to “Welcome Back Students” to campus for the start of the fall semester as the first 250 students through the gates at the LSU Soccer Stadium on Tuesday night will receive free pizza and drinks in the team’s home opener. The first 500 fans in attendance for the match will also receive a free “We Geaux United!” gold tank top to show their support for the Tigers.
Tuesday’s home opener marks the fifth meeting all-time in a series that dates back to the 1998 season as the Tigers are a perfect 4-0 against their in-state rivals in their four previous matches. That includes a 6-2 victory at the LSU Soccer Stadium in Baton Rouge a year ago when the Tigers and Lady Demons last met on Aug. 29 during the 2014 non-conference season.
“Our players have done a great job of preparing themselves both physically and mentally over the past nine months or so for this season and that really showed on Friday night with a solid performance and a deserved victory against a good Oregon team on the road in the season opener,” said LSU head coach Brian Lee. “We’re now excited to get back home for a run of games here as we look to build momentum early on.
“We’re looking forward to some great weather here locally, so it will be a great chance for our fans to come out and see the team in action for the first time in 2015. It should be a great match.”
The Tigers (1-0) are flying high following their 2-1 season-opening win at Oregon on Friday night as star strikers Summer Clarke and Jorian Baucom each opened their account with goals to lead the attack in their debuts in 2015. They return as the team’s two leading scorers from the 2014 season when Baucom topped the charts with eight goals and Clarke followed with seven goals to her credit.
With Friday victory, the Tigers have now won each of their last four season openers with a perfect 4-0 record in those matches since the 2012 campaign. They will now look to extend their streak in home openers to six seasons in a row as they enter Tuesday’s match against Northwestern State with a 4-0-1 mark in their first match at the LSU Soccer Stadium since 2010.
The Lady Demons (1-1) are coming off a season-opening split over the weekend after defeating LSU-Alexandria, 4-1, on their home field in Natchitoches on Friday evening before falling to Texas A&M, 3-0, on the road in College Station on Sunday afternoon. Four Lady Demons found the scoresheet in their opener with Camila Ardila, Brittany Caserma, Cache’ Haley and Kayleigh Phillips each opening their accounts.
After playing host to Northwestern State on Tuesday night, the Tigers will continue their five-game homestand this weekend when they welcome the likes of Minnesota, Stephen F. Austin and Western Kentucky into town for the “Battle on the Bayou” being held Friday and Sunday at the LSU Soccer Stadium. The Tigers will first face the Hilltoppers of Western Kentucky on Friday at 7:30 p.m. CT before wrapping up the event against the Golden Gophers on Sunday at 1 p.m. in what should be a great weekend for college soccer.
This year’s “Battle on the Bayou” will also feature matches between Minnesota and Stephen F. Austin on Friday at 5 p.m. and Stephen F. Austin and Western Kentucky on Sunday at 11 a.m. to highlight the event.