The most anticipated season in LSU soccer history wasn’t supposed to start with a loss.The No. 25 Tigers (0-1) return eight seniors from an NCAA tournament team and defeated No. 16 Texas for the first time ever in a preseason exhibition.The Tigers also earned their first-ever preseason ranking last week.But the Tigers’ accolades and aim to win the Southeastern Conference didn’t faze Memphis (1-0) on Friday night, as the two-time defending Conference USA champions ran away with an early lead to upset LSU, 2-0.”Memphis exposed some of the things we need to get better at — to start with physical effort,” said LSU coach Brian Lee. “They weren’t being dirty, they were just playing really tough and aggressive.”LSU was frustrated from the first whistle, allowing goals in the 17th and 24th minutes and being held without a single shot on goal.”I thought they played with midseason or postseason effort, and we played with preseason effort,” Lee said.The loss was the Tigers’ first in a home opener since 1997 and is a setback to what is widely considered to be the best team of Lee’s five-year tenure.”We don’t lose many home games … and certainly we were fearful of the kids overlooking Memphis,” Lee said. “But certainly Memphis isn’t a team — if we did — that you should be taking lightly.” It’s not the perfect start for Lee’s first graduating recruiting class. LSU’s eight seniors have improved from eighth in the SEC to fourth to second over the last three years. The Tigers have captured three-straight SEC West crowns but have fallen just short of attaining more — a fact they didn’t shy away from in preseason.”Winning the SEC is always the goal because we’ve never done it before,” said senior midfielder Melissa Clarke. “We definitely have the biggest opportunity to do so with so many seniors getting ready to graduate.”Lee said the seniors’ hopes for a successful season began as “just a dream” when they agreed to come to LSU.”When we got here the team was coming off back-to-back 12th place finishes in the SEC. So the kids had to buy in,” he said. “This fall we’re going to see, can we take that next step? Can we catch Florida?”Memphis is just the first in a series of non-conference matchups scheduled to help prepare LSU for the SEC slate. The Tigers face Oklahoma on Sept. 11 before traveling to face No. 1 North Carolina and No. 11 Duke at the Duke Nike Classic.The seniors won’t be alone on their quest, as several standout underclassmen are expected to contribute in the starting lineup. Sophomore keeper Mo Isom starts in goal again after earning SEC All-Freshman honors last year. “I have that same sense of urgency the seniors have,” Isom said. “Those girls have made so much progress and worked so hard, I want to contribute to achieving that goal for them.”The Tigers also gain two international-caliber players, as  redshirt sophomore midfielder Taryne Boudreau returns to the team after spending last fall with the Canadian international team at the U-20 Women’s World Cup. Sophomore defender Allysha Chapman — also a Canadian international — joins Boudreau after spending her freshman year at Alabama-Birmingham.Redshirt junior forward Courtney Alexander finally has the chance to play after joining the team in the spring of 2008. Alexander was named 2007 Ohio Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Year as a sophomore and has already notched a goal for the Tigers, heading in a game-winner in the dying moments of LSU’s exhibition with Texas.Isom didn’t mince words about the Tigers’ hopes of a first-place finish.”I won’t sugarcoat it,” Isom said. “I speak for everyone when I say this team expects nothing less than an SEC West championship. This team expects nothing less than an SEC championship. And we expect nothing less than a deep NCAA run. That’s a promise.”—-Contact David Helman at [email protected]