First-year Georgia Southern Lady Eagles soccer coach Lindsey Vanderspiegel opened her first preseason training camp at Georgia Southern Friday with a pair of appearances on the field. The Eagles were on the field at 8 a.m. for fitness testing before holding an evening practice at Eagle Field.
    “We are ecstatic to be out here again, this is what we build for all summer,” said Vanderspiegel. “It was a little warm out there, but we'll be ok. On the first day you're going to have ups and downs, but we had a good afternoon training session today.”
    The Eagles closed their first day on the pitch with an inter-squad scrimmage lasting the duration of the evening session.
    “It was really good to get back on the field today,” said senior Sara Oland. “We have been practicing all summer on our own, so it was good to be able to play together as a team today.”
    Georgia Southern opens the 2011 campaign on Friday, Aug. 12, with an exhibition match against North Florida at Eagle Field.
    The regular season begins on Friday, Aug. 19. at Winthrop.
    Georgia Southern's non-conference game against Howard, previously scheduled for Friday, Sept. 2nd in Orangeburg, S.C. has been canceled.
    The Eagles match against South Carolina State, scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 4 has been moved to fill the slot left by the cancellation.