Texas sophomore Megan Upah remembers the first day LSU sophomore Veronica Godbolt attended practice for the Austin Warriors, a Texas club team. Godbolt played for the rival team in middle school, and Upah said the Warriors did not accept her immediately. “When she arrived for her first practice, she didn’t get out of the car for a while,” Upah said. “It was funny because when she came to our club team in high school, we did not know if we would take very well to her. It all worked out for the best because we are very close now.” Godbolt will give her childhood friend a warmer welcome when the No. 14 Texas Longhorns (3-2) come to the LSU Soccer Complex Wednesday at 7 p.m. to play the LSU Tigers (3-3). Although Godbolt will not play after suffering a medial collateral ligament sprain last season, she and Upah will eat a meal together before the game. “It is frustrating because I would love to play against her,” Godbolt said. “[Upah] likes to do a little trashtalking. She has already Facebooked me two or three times saying the Longhorns are coming.” Texas has something to trashtalk about. The Longhorns lead the all-time series 2-0 and had a 4-3 overtime victory in their last meeting with LSU in 2003. Texas has already beaten No. 3 Penn State 2-1 and No. 13 Illinois 1-0 in overtime, but the Longhorns are 1-2 on the road, falling 1-0 to both unranked Auburn in their season opener and Rice on Sunday. LSU coach Brian Lee said Texas is an up-tempo team and should provide a major test for the Tigers. “Obviously it’s a huge game,” Lee said. “They come off of an upset loss to Rice Sunday night, so we are going to get their full attention. It’s a great opportunity to build an NCAA Tournament resume with a win against a team that could challenge for a national championship. Texas is a team that could challenge for the national championship.” LSU enters the game on a two-game losing streak. The Tigers lost 2-0 to Navy and 1-0 in double overtime to Villanova this past weekend. “It was very devastating [to lose that game],” said LSU senior forward Joleen Phillips. “We had more chances than Villanova had in the overtime. They put theirs away, and we didn’t finish our chances.” More importantly, sophomore Melissa Clarke will be out indefinitely after injuring the lateral collateral ligament in her knee against Villanova. Lee said Clarke suffered the injury when she was kicked in the leg while trying to win the ball. Clarke scored two goals and had three assists on the season. Freshmen Amanda Carreno, Katherine Lagow and Malorie Rutledge will replace the injured Clarke. The freshmen midfielders have combined for three goals and three assists on the season. “Our freshmen are really talented,” said junior midfielder Caroline Vanderpool. “They have talent and speed. I didn’t know what to expect from these players, but I am surprised by how good they are. We are going to do great, and a lot of it is going to be because of these freshmen.” Four of LSU’s seventh-ranked recruiting class call Texas home. “Texas is prime recruiting grounds for us,” Lee said. “A couple of our kids also took visits to Texas, so we are in the mix for the best players from the state. A win against Texas will go a long way in recruiting and also be a pride factor for our Texas kids when they go back home.”
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