Robert Gary Ingram
June 9, 2008
Marilyn Chapman Moore
June 11, 2008
Nicholls State University’s soccer team will play nine home matches, including five Southland Conference contests at the school’s soccer field.
Nicholls will face teams from the SEC, Sun Belt Conference, Missouri Valley Conference, SWAC and CSAC in non-conference action. Soccer head coach Cindy Piper announced the team’s 2008 schedule last week.
“We’re looking forward to the 2008 season,” said Piper. “We’ll have a predominately young team, so there will be a lot of competition for some spots.”
The Lady Colonels open the season on the road, traveling to SWAC to face opponents Southern (Aug. 22), Texas Southern (Aug. 24) and Mississippi Valley State (Sept. 5), while also facing South Alabama (Aug. 29) and Troy (Aug. 31) of the Sun Belt Conference.
“It’s going to be a tough adjustment, especially for our incoming freshmen, to spend the first month of the season on the road,” said Piper.
Nicholls returns to Thibodaux to open the home portion of the schedule with a match-up against Grambling State on Sept. 7.
On Sept. 12 and 14, the team hosts the Nicholls Select Gear Shootout.
The Lady Colonels will open the Shootout against the SEC’s Mississippi State on Friday, and will take on Jackson State in the Sunday game. South Alabama will be the fourth team in the tournament field, but will not face the Lady Colonels during tournament play.
“We’re so excited about our tournament,” Piper noted. “We hope for a good crowd, especially with an SEC school coming to play on our field.”
After the Shootout, Nicholls travels to Fayetteville, Ark., to play Missouri State (Sept. 19) and Arkansas (Sept. 21) in a tournament hosted by Arkansas.
The Lady Colonels play one more non-conference match – against Centenary (Sept. 24) – in a midweek game before beginning Southland Conference play.
Piper’s crew will open SLC action on Oct. 3 and 5, taking on Sam Houston State on Friday afternoon (4 p.m.) and Stephen F. Austin on Sunday at 1 p.m. The Lady Colonels will play Southland Conference games against Central Arkansas (Oct. 17 at 4 p.m.), Northwestern State (Oct. 19 at 1 p.m.) and Southeastern Louisiana (Nov. 2 at 1 p.m.).
“Southland Conference play is the toughest part of our schedule,” Piper added. “The league has gotten more competitive through the years and there are no longer weak teams.”
Nicholls will play four SLC matches on the road – Texas-San Antonio (Oct. 10), Texas State (Oct. 12), McNeese State (Oct. 24) and Lamar (Oct. 26).
This year’s Southland Conference Tournament will be played at McNeese State in Lake Charles, from Nov. 6-9.
“I’m looking forward to getting the team on campus and starting preseason workouts,” Piper stated. “This is a challenging schedule for us but we’re carrying the biggest roster we’ve ever had. All of these girls have experience winning and have winning attitudes, so we should have a great season ahead of us.”
Lady Colonel Katherine Peters fends off an opponent during a match against Jackson State. The 2008 lineup for Nicholls State opens Aug. 22 on the road against Southern University. * Photo by DOUG KEESE / NSU
