by Will Stafford, Associate Sports Information Director
BATON ROUGE -- After finishing as the runner-up in the Southeastern Conference regular season and tournament, the LSU soccer team earned a No. 4 national seed and will play host to the first two rounds of the 2009 NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Tournament for the first time in school history, the NCAA selection committee announced Monday evening.
The Tigers (14-4-4) will take on Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament champion Arkansas-Pine Bluff in Friday’s first round at 7 p.m. CT at the LSU Soccer Complex.
The Baton Rouge Regional will also feature a first-round matchup between Conference USA Tournament champion Memphis and Big 12 Conference heavyweight Texas A&M on Friday at 4 p.m.
The winners of the two first-round matches will meet in the second round on Sunday at 1 p.m. The Tigers are one of 64 teams in this year’s field with an eye on advancing to the 2009 NCAA Women’s College Cup to be held at the Aggie Soccer Stadium in College Station, Texas, from Dec. 4-6.
Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased online at LSUsports.net. Orders will be available for pickup at Will Call as all seats at the LSU Soccer Complex are general admission.
Tickets are $6 for adults, $3 for students and just $1 for youths ages 5 and under. Fans purchasing a ticket for Session 1 on Friday will receive admission to both first-round matches. Tickets for Session 2 are valid only for Sunday’s second-round match. Fans interested in purchasing group tickets of 10 or more are asked to contact the LSU Ticket Office at 225-578-2184.
“We’re very excited to have the opportunity to host the first two rounds. It’s tremendous to have that kind of home field advantage in the postseason,” said LSU head coach Brian Lee. “We’re also honored to have such quality programs coming here to Baton Rouge to compete in postseason play. Our kids know what is at stake this weekend and that they will need to lay it all on the line to advance.
“It’s also a great opportunity for our fans to come out and enjoy an NCAA Tournament atmosphere at our own stadium for the first time. We hope they come out and support this great event.”
This marks the third-straight season in which LSU has earned an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament after finishing the 2009 regular season with a 14-4-4 overall record and a school record 8-2-1 mark with a total of 25 points in SEC play for a No. 2 finish in the final conference standings.
The Tigers are also fresh off an impressive run to the SEC Tournament championship game on Sunday in which it tied South Carolina by a score of 1-1 before falling by an 8-7 margin in penalty kicks.
Not only does this mark the first time that LSU will play host to the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament, but it is also the first time that the Tigers will compete as a national seed.
The Tigers, who enter the postseason riding a five-game unbeaten streak, have enjoyed success in NCAA Tournament play in recent years as they advanced to the second round with a 1-0 overtime win against the Samford Bulldogs in Tallahassee, Fla., in 2007. They also competed in the NCAA First Round in College Station, Texas, in 2008 where they dropped a 3-2 overtime decision to the Washington Huskies.
“Every level you advance in the NCAA Tournament is a real tangible,” Lee said. “If we can be a Sweet 16 team, that’s significant. If we can be a final eight team, that’s significant. If we can be a Final Four team, that’s tremendous. But right now, all of our focus is set on Arkansas-Pine Bluff come Friday night.”
The Tigers are not the only team from the SEC to earn a berth into this year’s NCAA Tournament as five other programs will battle the nation’s best teams for the right to advance to the College Cup.
Joining LSU in the 64-team field are Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Ole Miss and South Carolina, marking the third year in a row that the SEC will be represented by six teams in the NCAA Tournament. South Carolina earned an automatic berth by winning the SEC Tournament title in Orange Beach on Sunday and the remaining four teams received at-large consideration.
The Baton Rouge Regional champion will head to the Sweet 16 next weekend to be held at a site yet to be determined. The NCAA quarterfinals will be held Nov. 27-29 with the last four teams advancing to the 2009 NCAA Women’s College Cup in College Station, Texas, Dec. 4-6.
LSU Head Coach Brian Lee
On facing Arkansas-Pine Bluff in the first round...
“I don’t know much about Arkansas-Pine Bluff, but Grambling is in that league and they are a good team. Arkansas-Pine Bluff was good enough to get past them. We’ll spend the next day or so talking to people and getting some information on them and seeing what we can find out come Friday night.”
On the LSU’s health entering the NCAA Tournament...
“I think by the end of the week Rachel Yepez and Malorie Rutledge will both be ready to go. We’re going to take a couple days off and recover from the SEC Tournament. That was a real grind, and hopefully we’ll be as healthy as possible. Coming into the SEC Tournament, we were probably among the healthiest team in the country. We took our bumps and bruises, but nothing that should keep anyone from playing this weekend.”
On being able to host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament...
“It’s really important. We’d seen some RPI stuff that really encouraged us about our chances to be in the 2-3-4 range for the seeds within each bracket. We’re just happy to be at home. Home field advantage is massive in the postseason.”
On advancing in the NCAA Tournament...
“Every level you advance in the NCAAs is a real tangible. If we can be a Sweet 16 team, that’s significant. If we can be a final eight team, that’s significant. If we can be a Final Four team, that’s tremendous. But right now, all focus is on Arkansas-Pine Bluff.”
LSU All-SEC Midfielder Melissa Clarke
On if she was surprised about LSU’s selection as a host site...
“I don’t know. We’re all just very excited to be playing at home again. We’ve never been in this spot before, so we hope to make the most of it.”
On the SEC Tournament providing motivation for the NCAA Tournament...
“I think it’s just a hard lesson learned. Mistakes are often your best teaching tool, and we can definitely learn a lesson from the (SEC Tournament) final.”
On the advantage of playing at home...
“Our fans are amazing. The atmosphere is breathtaking. It’s unbelievable. You can’t match that anywhere. It’s such a huge advantage for us. But we still need to go out and play like we know we can play. We will have to earn it.”
LSU All-SEC Midfielder Malorie Rutledge
On recovering from the loss in the SEC Tournament final...
“That one’s going to take a long time. To give up a goal with two minutes left and then lose in PKs, it’s pretty rough. I wanted that for Brian (Lee) and I wanted it for LSU. We can’t hang our heads too low because we’ve got a big weekend coming up.”
On preparing for NCAA Tournament play...
“If you can’t get hyped about NCAAs, you can’t get hyped about much. This is it for us, especially our senior class. Knowing that our next loss is our last game pretty much sums it up. We’re just going to try to come out ready for Arkansas-Pine Bluff. I don’t know too much about them, but I’m sure we’ll get a good scouting report and come out hard.”
On being able to play at home...
“It’s an awesome feeling. It’s such a big advantage for our team, and it’s definitely going to help carry us through these games. Hopefully, it will be a good weekend for us.”
