Mandeville Soccer
Club hosting college
soccer exhibition

College soccer comes to the Northshore the Saturday courtesy of Mandeville Soccer Club, which is hosting four college teams at Pelican Park. LSU, Southeastern Louisiana University, Mississippi State University and the University of Southern Mississippi will participate in the two matches. SLU and Mississippi State get the action underway at 2 p.m. followed by LSU and USM at 4. The games, which are free to the public, take place at the Pelican Park Gold Complex.

Mike Ortner, Girls Director of Coaching at MSC, said it’s an opportunity to see some of the best college players in action, including a couple former MSC players. Junior Renee Hrapmann and freshman Elisha Tarbell, both graduates and former stars at Fontainebleau High, currently play with USM.

The four colleges that are participating in Saturday’s matches have recently signed current MSC players, including Kelly Gautreaux, Tricia Johnson and Catherine Luparello, who will play for LSU next season, while Caitlin Leumas and Lindsey Schwaner make their way to USM, and Katy Hoover has signed with Mississippi State.

“It’s a great opportunity to watch top level college soccer right here on the Northshore,” Ortner said.

LSU and Southeastern played an exhibition match last year at Pelican Park, which former FHS player Roslyn Jones and SSA graduate Casey Crawford, played in.

“We had a great turnout for last year’s event. This year, we wanted to expand on the number of teams. This is a great opportunity for local soccer players and their parents to see first hand how the college game is played,” Ortner added.