The LSU soccer team has an extended spring break ahead.While students head to beaches and bars around the Gulf Coast, the Tigers (3-0-1) finish their spring season in College Station, Texas, and Orange Beach, Ala.LSU heads into the final stretch of the spring season Saturday with a doubleheader against BYU and Texas A&M before traveling to face Auburn on April 18.”It’s been very productive so far,” said LSU coach Brian Lee. “We’ve had a very good start, but playing teams at the level of Texas A&M and BYU back-to-back will be really, really tough.”Lee probably hopes the last leg of the schedule goes as well as the first. The spring opened with a 3-0 win against Oklahoma State, which finished the 2008 season ranked No. 13 by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.”That first game was against a really tough team, and we just came out and cleaned up,” said sophomore goalkeeper Mo Isom.Isom is back in the goal for the Tigers after a breakout freshman season. She has allowed just one goal through the spring season and said she’s growing into her role as a team leader.”Getting the first season under my belt was huge,” she said. “I just feel so much more confident not only in goal, but off the field with the girls.”Saturday’s matchup with BYU will be an interesting reprise for both Isom and the Tigers. LSU pounded the Cougars, 4-1, on the first day of classes last semester, highlighted by Isom’s 100-yard goal from inside her own goalkeeper’s box.”It will be interesting to face that goalkeeper again,” Isom said. “That goal really boosted my confidence and helped me at the beginning of the year … BYU will probably take the field wanting to destroy us.”
The Tigers went through March with a 1-1 tie against Mississippi State, a 1-0 win against Southern Miss and a 3-0 pasting of Southeastern Louisiana.LSU will welcome three high-profile transfers to the active roster when the fall season starts, but two of the three are unavailable this spring.Sophomore midfielder Tayrne Boudreau returned from the 2008 FIFA U-20 World Cup, bringing sophomore defender Allysha Chapman with her from the Canadian national team.The Tigers will also debut senior forward Courtney Alexander, the 2007 Ohio Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Year who transferred to LSU last spring.Only Chapman is eligible to play this spring, but Lee said there are plenty of other contributors.”Spring has been great for kids who didn’t play big roles during the fall season,” Lee said. “The spring roster is never going to be too heavy, and it’s a great time to take stock in where we are … We’re very excited for the fall.”—-Contact David Helman at [email protected]