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Soccer Looks to Rebound in Charleston Finale

by Will Stafford (@WillStaffordLSU)
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Soccer Looks to Rebound in Charleston Finale

BATON ROUGE – The LSU Soccer team is poised to bounce back from its 1-0 season-opening defeat to 17th-ranked Virginia Tech on Friday night when it wraps up its visit to the Charleston Classic at Patriots Point on Sunday afternoon by taking on hosts College of Charleston in a match that is set to kick off at 12:30 p.m. CT.

The Cougars (0-1) also kicked off their 2016 season with a defeat to SEC opposition on Friday night when they went down 2-0 to the visiting Mississippi State Bulldogs in the nightcap at Patriots Point.

It’s been nine years since LSU (0-1) and the College of Charleston last met on the soccer pitch in their one and only meeting in the series as the Tigers were dominant in a 4-0 win at Patriots Point back on Sept. 21, 2007. The Cougars are now members of the Colonial Athletic Association following their long-time membership in the Southern Conference when the two sides last met.

Sunday’s match will be the first for LSU against a member of the CAA, a league that also features Delaware, Drexel, Elon, Hofstra, James Madison, Northeastern, Towson, UNC-Wilmington and William & Mary.

The Tigers will certainly be looking to pick up the pace in the attack after managing just one shot on target in 90 minutes against a stifling defense by the 17th-ranked Hokies. Sophomore goalkeeper Caroline Brockmeier was steady on the other end while making eight saves in goal for the Tigers on her LSU debut.

Brockmeier was among six Tigers making their debut on Friday night as she was joined on the field by juniors Zoe Higgins and Nicole Howard and freshmen Caitlin Cantrill, Jade Clarke and Marlena Cutura.

The Tigers also feature proven experience in the team with 79 career goals by seniors Summer Clarke and Megan Lee, juniors Jorian Baucom and Debbie Hahn and sophomores Gabriela Maldonado and Alex Thomas. Clarke, a two-time Second-Team All-SEC selection, is LSU’s active career leader with 24 goals, while Baucom follows close behind with 23 goals in her career as a First-Team All-SEC performer.

After wrapping up their season-opening weekend against the Cougars on Sunday in the final match of this year’s Charleston Classic at Patriots Point, the Tigers will return to the LSU Soccer Stadium in Baton Rouge next Thursday night as they square off against George Washington in their 2016 home opener that is set to kick off at 7 p.m. CT. They follow with a home match against Colgate on Sunday, Aug. 28, at Noon.