Aug. 20, 2006

Baton Rouge, LA--The Southern University Lady Jaguars soccer team has been going through pre-season training for the last two weeks. But now it's time to put that training into practice as they prepare for their season opener against the Southeastern Louisiana University Lady Lions.

"Training has been going well these past couple of weeks," said head coach John Knighten. "The players took time out of their summer schedule to train on their own and it showed once we returned to the field."

Southern completed the 2005 season 4-10 overall, 4-5 in the Conference while finishing third in the Western Division. SU also earned their second straight trip to the soccer tournament where they were defeated by Jackson State University 1-5 in the first round.

Last season the Lady Jags drop their second game of the season 0-8 to the Lady Lions. This season Southeastern looks to win their 100th victory when they meet up with the Lady Jags.

"They are a strong team," Knighten said. "They play competitive, and are very strong with their defense. We're going to have a few players in new positions so I'll be looking to see how they respond."

Leading the team will be 2005 first-team All-Louisiana Kendall Smith, along with All-Louisiana honorable mention honorees Almarie Soto-Ortiz, Jamika Pugh and Charmaine Jones.

"These three young ladies helped us achieve last season," Kinghten said. "We have some new players to go along with some ladies who have stepped up this season.

Southern will travel to Hammond, LA on Friday, August 25th. Game time is set for 4:30 p.m. at Lady Lions stadium on the campus Southeastern.