BATON ROUGE – A season-opening match on Aug. 19 against ACC power Virginia Tech at the Charleston Classic at Patriot Point and five matches against NCAA Tournament teams in Southeastern Conference play will highlight an exciting 19-game regular-season schedule for the LSU Tigers as the start of the 2016 season is fast approaching.
The Tigers capitalized on a strong regular season and run to the SEC Tournament semifinals to earn a return trip to the NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Tournament for the fifth time in program history a year ago while wrapping up the 2015 season with a 13-6-4 overall record in their 23 matches played last fall.
They are now one month from the start of preseason training as they prepare to renew their series with the Hokies on Aug. 19 at the Charleston Classic at Patriot Point in South Carolina. LSU will also battle tournament host College of Charleston on Aug. 21 to wrap up their season-opening weekend with their first appearance at Patriot Point since the non-conference season in 2008.
Virginia Tech ended the 2015 season in the NCAA Second round where they finished with a 15-4-2 overall record and No. 18 ranking in the final National Soccer Coaches Association of America Top 25 poll.
LSU’s non-conference slate this fall also features home matches against George Washington on Aug. 25, Colgate on Aug. 28 and Lamar on Sept. 18 at the LSU Soccer Stadium, as well as road matches at Big Ten program Indiana on Sept 2 and Butler on Sept. 4, both in Bloomington, Indiana, and Western Kentucky on Sept. 8 in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
“We always want to put together a non-conference schedule that prepares our team for what’s to come in SEC play while giving us the opportunity to also develop a resume for NCAA Tournament selection at the end of the season,” said LSU head coach Brian Lee. “We believe we’ve achieved that with this schedule. We’ll be tested at the highest level in what is sure to be an exciting 2016 season for our program.”
LSU’s conference schedule is highlighted by a trio of home fixtures against NCAA Sweet 16 qualifiers in 2015 as the Tigers welcome Ole Miss in their SEC home opener on Sept. 16, Florida on Sept. 30 and Auburn on Oct. 20. The Gators are the defending SEC Champions after posting a 19-4-1 overall record and 9-2-1 mark in league play last fall, finishing the season as the nation’s No. 8-ranked team in the final NSCAA Top 25 poll. Auburn ended the season ranked No. 12 and Ole Miss ranked No. 16 in the final NSCAA Top 25 national rankings.
Also scheduled to face the Tigers at the LSU Soccer Stadium during the 2016 regular season are Tennessee on Oct. 6, Alabama on Oct. 23 and Arkansas in their regular-season finale on Oct. 27.
The Tigers face a challenging away schedule in league play as they open their SEC slate in College Station, Texas, with a match against reigning SEC Tournament Champion Texas A&M at Ellis Field on Sept. 11. The Aggies proved to be one of the nation’s top teams in 2015 as they qualified for their first NCAA Women’s College Cup with a semifinals appearance in Cary, North Carolina, while finishing the season ranked No. 9.
LSU’s SEC road matches include trips to NCAA Tournament qualifier South Carolina in Columbia on Sept. 22; Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tennessee, on Sept. 25; Georgia in Athens on Oct. 9; and Mississippi State in Starkville on Oct. 14. The 2016 SEC Women’s Soccer Tournament returns to the Orange Beach (Ala.) Sportsplex from Oct. 31-Nov. 6 to kick off postseason play.