LSU soccer coach George Fotopoulos will finally get to see the young 2003 team in action this weekend as they open up their season against Coastal Carolina tonight.
“We’ve been working all summer to prepare for this weekend,” said senior midfielder Stephanie Keating. “It’s exciting to see the progression we had and finally put that out on the field in a game situation.”
Plenty of freshmen should see action on the field with plenty of holes to fill due to the departure of players such as forward Mandy Heintz and defender Ashley Mitnick.
“We have a bunch of great freshmen that came in and we’re really excited to play with them,” said senior midfielder Laura Klatter.
LSU will be playing three games in six days. After tonight’s game, the Tigers will face Jackson State on Sunday then McNeese State on Tuesday night.
“That will be a good test for us,” Fotopoulos said.
This weekend will mark the first meeting of LSU with Coastal Carolina and Jackson State. The only information the Tigers have about CCU is what they learned from scouting reports, but Fotopoulos had the team run scrimmages using CCU’s system.
“They’re a very good team and have played well over the past couple of years,” Fotopoulos said.
Jackson State just began its soccer program two years ago, but Fotopoulos said he is not taking the young program lightly.
“Anytime you play against athleticism there always is a danger,” he said. “My hope is that we can get get up on them early. And when you get on young teams early, they don’t have a lot of experience to get back.”
LSU has faced McNeese four times in the past and holds a 3-1 record against them. Last year the Tigers won 3-0.
After the next six days, Fotopoulos said he hopes to know more about his team.
“It’s hard to know right now because we haven’t played anyone yet,” he said. “I don’t think we are a great team yet. I think we have good qualities and we have the ability to be great, but that will take a lot of work and time.”
Since coming to LSU, Fotopoulos has established a routine to prepare the team for game weekends. LSU always begins with a team meal on Thursday night at Portobello’s and team members said it is much more important than a good meal.
“It gets us focused on what we need to do and our goals,” said sophomore forward Christine Haman.