Danielle Fotopoulos Explained

Danielle Fotopoulos
Fullname:Danielle Ruth Fotopoulos
Birth Name:Danielle Ruth Garrett[1]
Birth Date:March 24, 1976
Birth Place:Camp Hill, Pennsylvania
Currentclub:Eckerd College (coach)
Years1:1998
Years2:2001–2003
Years3:2005
Clubs1:Tampa Bay Extreme
Clubs2:Carolina Courage
Clubs3:Central Florida Krush
Position:Forward
Youthyears1:1990–1993
Youthclubs1:Lyman High School
Collegeyears1:1994–1995
College1:SMU Mustangs
Collegecaps1:44
Collegegoals1:52
Collegeyears2:1996–1998
College2:Florida Gators
Collegecaps2:48
Collegegoals2:66
Caps1:4
Caps2:53
Goals1:6
Goals2:27
Nationalyears1:1996–2005
Nationalteam1:United States
Nationalcaps1:35
Nationalgoals1:16
Manageryears1:2004
Managerclubs1:LSU
Manageryears2:2010–2022
Managerclubs2:Eckerd

Danielle Ruth Fotopoulos (; born March 24, 1976) is an American soccer coach and former player. Fotopoulos holds the all-time National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I records for goals and points, and was a member of the University of Florida team that won the 1998 NCAA women's soccer championship, and also the United States national team that won the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup. She was the head coach of the Eckerd women's soccer team until 2022.

Early life

Fotopoulos was born in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania in 1976, the daughter of Bill and Donna Garrett. She grew up in Altamonte Springs, Florida, and attended Lyman High School in Longwood, Florida from 1990 to 1994. While in high school, she was a varsity letterman in six different sports—basketball, cross country, soccer, tennis, swimming and track & field. Her high school soccer team won three Florida state championships during her four years on the team.

College career

Fotopoulos initially attended Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, Texas, where she played for the SMU Mustangs soccer team from 1994 to 1995. After her sophomore year, she transferred from SMU to the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where she played for coach Becky Burleigh's new Florida Gators women's soccer team for two seasons. She suffered an ACL injury before the start of the 1997 season and returned to the Gators for her senior year in 1998. She helped the Gators win the 1998 NCAA Women's Soccer Championship, scoring the winning goal against North Carolina in the final of the NCAA soccer tournament. During her 1996 and 1998 seasons with the Gators, the team also won both the Southeastern Conference (SEC) regular season and tournament championships, and she was twice recognized as the SEC Player of the Year. Fotopoulos finished her college career as the NCAA's all-time leader in goals (118) and points (284). She was the 1998–99 recipient of the Honda Sports Award for Soccer, recognizing her as the outstanding collegiate women's soccer player of the year.[2] [3]

She graduated from Florida with a bachelor's degree in 1999, and was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 2008.[4] [5]

Professional career

Fotopoulos played professionally with the Carolina Courage of the Women's United Soccer Association, winning the league championship in 2002. She was also a member of the United States Women's National Soccer team.

Coaching career

Fotopoulos is married to former Louisiana State University (LSU) women's soccer team head coach George Fotopoulos. In 2004, she served as co-head coach with her husband at LSU.[6] [7] They finished with an 8–11–1 overall record (2–8–1 in the SEC).[8] In 2006, she became an assistant coach for the Florida Gators soccer team at the University of Florida, her alma mater. She currently lives in Tampa, Florida with her husband and their four children. She coached multiple teams at the Tampa Bay United Soccer Club and currently coaches at Florida Premier FC where she is the GIRLS ECNLR Director. She is also a partner for the semi-pro team, Tampa Bay Hellenic; her husband is currently the head coach. From 2010 to 2022, Fotopoulos was the head of coach of the NCAA Division II women's soccer team at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida from 2010 until stepping down in August 2022.[9]

Honors

Individual awards and honors

1998[10]

Team honors

Statistics

College

YearTeamGP/GSGoalsAssistsTotal Points
1994SMU20/1920545
1995SMU24/23321985
1996Florida22/22341383
1997Floridadid not play
1998Florida26/26321175
Totals92/9011848284

WUSA

YearTeamGP/GSGoalsAssistsTotal Points
2001Carolina Courage21/219523
2002Carolina Courage21/20111032
2003Carolina Courage12/127620
Totals54/53272175

W-League

YearTeamGPGoals
1998Tampa Bay Extremes46
2005Central Florida Krush9
Totals15

National team

YearGP/GSGoalsAssistsTotal Points
19962/1328
19976/0113
19981/0000
199917/17418
2000did not play
2001
20024/0102
2003did not play
2004
20055/1408
Totals35/316739

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: York, Pennsylvania . Fotopoulos earns time to shine . . 209 . 13 . 1B . Sports . January 13, 2005 . August 4, 2022.
  2. Collegiate Women Sports Awards, Past Honda Sports Award Winners for Soccer. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
  3. Web site: Florida's Fotopoulos Wins Honda Award for Soccer. Florida Gators. en. 2020-03-20.
  4. F Club, Hall of Fame, Gator Greats. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
  5. " Nine Members Inducted Into University of Florida Athletics Hall of Fame," GatorZone.com (April 11, 2008). Retrieved May 23, 2011.
  6. Web site: LSU History. lsusports.net. 19. 2018-07-29. 2018-07-30. https://web.archive.org/web/20180730140308/http://www.lsusports.net/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=5200&ATCLID=211140901. dead.
  7. Web site: Danielle Fotopoulos. lsusports.net. 2018-07-29. 2018-07-30. https://web.archive.org/web/20180730110922/http://www.lsusports.net/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=5200&ATCLID=174103. dead.
  8. Web site: LSU Soccer coaches step down. 247sports.com. 2018-07-29.
  9. Web site: Fotopoulos Steps Down as Women's Soccer Head Coach. Eckerd College Athletics. 11 March 2023.
  10. Soccer. CWSA. en. 2020-03-29.