The Daily Reveille
Friday, September 2, 2011
SOCCER
page 7
LSU travels to play Rice for fourth consecutive road match Young offense fights with strong defense Sydney Armstrong Sports Contributor
The LSU soccer team will play its fourth consecutive road match tonight as it travels to Houston, Texas, to compete against Rice. The Tigers (1-2) are coming off a dreary weekend after losing to North Carolina State, 1-0, on Aug. 29. Multiple fouls, missed shots, drawn-out weather delays and a yellow card brought the team its second loss. “The N.C. State match was the best attacking game we’ve played against a good opponent in two years, but we just couldn’t find the net,” said LSU coach Brian Lee. “We want to keep working on it, cleaning up some things and eventually the goals will flow.” The Owls are 2-1 this season with wins against TCU, McNeese State and Houston Baptist. Rice is off to its best start since the 2008 season when it started a 2-1
THOMAS, from page 5
Thomas showed flashes of brilliance in a loss against Auburn in January’s BCS title game, as he threw for a career-high 363 yards and two touchdowns. But Auburn’s defense also grabbed two interceptions off Thomas and forced some questionable decisions from the signal caller on several read options. The traditional criticism against Oregon’s offense in recent years has been its inability to run with consistency against stout defensive lines, like Auburn’s last year or the Ohio State front in the 2010 Rose Bowl. Thomas said the key to maintaining the Ducks’ offensive success would come from how well the unit carries out the game plan rather than the group’s renowned preference for snapping the ball quickly. “We’re obviously going to be up-tempo, but it’s not all about the tempo,” he told media earlier this week. “We have to execute our game more than anything.”
TRAVELING, from page 5
pace as a whole. “We’ve been working on not just having a fast offense but running to our places really fast and trying to beat the other team in fit level and be ahead of them every step,” she said. LSU opens with a match against Arkansas-Little Rock at 1:30 p.m. today, followed by a 6 p.m. matchup with Grambling. “Whether you win or lose, you have to turn around and play the next one,” Jones said. “It’s difficult, but it’s going to be a good challenge for us.” Flory said both teams are dan-
ZACH BREAUX / The Daily Reveille
LSU freshman forward Kaley Blades (wearing vest) kicks the ball during morning practice Wednesday at the LSU Soccer Stadium.
record in three games. Junior defender Amy Beger, a 2010 First-Team All-Conference USA member, has been a leader on the Owls’ defense and scored a goal to help Rice beat McNeese. The Tigers have struggled
this season, getting blanked in two of the three games to begin the year. “It’s all about the youth,” Lee said. “Certainly they’re really talented and very raw. We’ve got to keep it realistic and understand there will be growing pains.”
Freshman forward Alex Cook, sophomore forward Addie Eggleston and junior forward Carlie Banks are all competing for consistent playing time. “They’re competing every day, and eventually we hope a few will emerge as the clear
The native Texan said he is looking forward to playing in front of several family members on the big stage at Cowboys Stadium. “I’ve got a lot of friends and family that are going to be there,” he said. “I’m trying to keep the pressure off, but it’s a little pressure with a lot of them coming out able to see me really for the first time in college.” Besides nearly attending LSU, Thomas knows “about 20” players on the Tiger roster from his Houston high school career, including suspended LSU wide receiver Russell Shepard. “I grew up with their quarterback, Darron Thomas,” Shepard said last month. “We know of each other, and there’s a lot of links between us and those players. It’s a friendly rivalry.” Thomas echoed those sentiments, saying there hasn’t been much trash-talking about the game in the offseason. “We’ll leave those things to the victor on the field,” he said. Thomas was also involved
in one of college football’s many offseason scandals. He was asleep in the passenger seat of a car with teammate and star cornerback Cliff Harris, who was pulled over for speeding in May. Marijuana was allegedly present in the car, and Harris has been suspended for Saturday’s game. “When I called him to bring me home from Portland [Ore.], I
got in the car and [Cliff] wasn’t even driving,” Thomas said in August. “I went to sleep and woke up with the police at the window.” Despite that potential distraction, Thomas said he will be ready for the anticipated matchup and draw on his experience in big games after kickoff. “[Playing in the national
gerous. “Anytime you have a group of great athletes, they’re going to have a breakout moment,” she said. “We just have to make sure that it’s not against us.” The Tigers face host New Mexico State on Saturday at 3 p.m. Flory said playing the Aggies at home will be difficult, but the location won’t be the only challenge; it took No. 5 Nebraska five sets to finish off the Aggies in its match last weekend.
Contact Albert Burford at aburford@lsureveille.com
starters,” Lee said. “They know they have to stay on their toes in every practice or else someone will beat them out.” Senior goalkeeper Mo Isom and sophomore goalkeeper Megan Kinneman have also been competing for a starting job. Isom entered at halftime against N.C. State after Kinneman allowed the one goal of the game, letting the ball slip through her grasp in the first half. Lee said his team needs to be better in possession to increase LSU’s scoring opportunities against Rice. “We’d always like it to be faster, but there’s a progression,” Lee said. “When it comes together, we’re going to score goals in boatloads.” Following tonight’s game, LSU travels Tuesday to play the University of Houston. After a five-game road stand, the Tigers will return home Sept. 9 to play undefeated Oregon in the newly renovated LSU Soccer Stadium.
Contact Sydney Armstrong at sarmstrong@lsureveille.com championship] helps a little, but it’s not the same game,” the quarterback said. “There’ll be some jitters on our stomach, but that’ll be gone after the first play.”
Contact Chris Abshire at cabshire@lsureveille.com