TAMPA, Fla. — The LSU soccer team is set to close out its 2003 spring season this weekend as the Tigers are scheduled to compete in four matches in three days against Stetson University and three of the nation’s top club teams.
“We’ve had another really good spring and we’ve been able to go undefeated,” said LSU head coach George Fotopoulos. “I think that we’ve been playing some quality soccer, but we definitely lost a lot of good starting players to graduation last season. Right now, we’ve been using the spring as a time to find some people to step up and fill their positions and this is another opportunity for some players to do that.”
LSU heads into the weekend with an undefeated 5-0-4 overall record in the spring and has earned first-place titles in two tournaments. In their last competition, the Tigers used a hat-trick performance from sophomore Artie Brown to win their second straight Tiger Spring Classic. LSU defeated the Baton Rouge Soccer Academy, 4-0, in the championship game.
Beginning Saturday in Tampa, Fla., LSU will begin competition against three of the nation’s top club program’s in Hillsborough United, the Temple Terrace Soccer Club and the Blackwatch Soccer Club. The Tigers will close out their 2003 spring season against Stetson University on Sunday.
“We’re going to be playing some very, very good club teams this weekend,” Fotopoulos said. “They will be some tough competition for us, but I feel that it will give us a chance to showcase our program in the state of Florida. We know that Florida is a huge recruiting area for us and we want to give LSU some recognition by letting them see us play.”
The LSU soccer team will next be in action this fall as the Tigers kick off its 2003 schedule against Coastal Carolina at 7 p.m. on Aug. 29, at the LSU Soccer Complex.