Danielle Ruth Fotopoulos (; born March 24, 1976) is an American
soccer coach and former player. Fotopoulos holds the all-time
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...
(NCAA)
Division I records for goals and points, and was a member of the
University of Florida
The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...
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
The 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup was the third edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the world championship for women's national soccer teams. It was hosted as well as won by the United States and took place from June 19 to July 10, 1999, at ...
. She was the head coach of the
Eckerd women's soccer team until 2022.
Early life
Fotopoulos was born in
Camp Hill, Pennsylvania
Camp Hill is a borough in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. It is southwest of Harrisburg and is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical area. The population was 7,888 at the 2010 census. There are many large corporations bas ...
in 1976, the daughter of Bill and Donna Garrett. She grew up in
Altamonte Springs, Florida
Altamonte Springs is a suburban city in central Florida in Seminole County, Florida, United States, which had a population of 46,231 at the 2020 United States Census. The city is in the northern suburbs of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford Metro ...
, and attended
Lyman High School in
Longwood, Florida
Longwood is a city in Seminole County, Florida, United States. The population was 15,087 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Geography
Longwood is located at .
According t ...
from 1990 to 1994. While in
high school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
, she was a varsity
letterman in six different sports—
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
,
cross country, soccer,
tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
,
swimming
Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...
and
track & field
Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...
. 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
, mottoeng = "The truth will make you free"
, established =
, type = Private research university
, accreditation = SACS
, academic_affiliations =
, religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church
, president = R. Gerald Turner
, ...
(SMU) in
Dallas, Texas
Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...
, where she played for the
SMU Mustangs
The SMU Mustangs are the athletic teams that represent Southern Methodist University in University Park, Texas, United States. The Mustangs were founded in 1911 and joined the Southwest Conference, competing against Baylor, Rice, Texas, Texa ...
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
The Florida Gators women's soccer team represents the University of Florida in the sport of college soccer. The Gators compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They ...
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
A goal is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines.
A goal is roughly similar to a purpose or ...
against
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...
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
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...
(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.
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.
Professional career
Fotopoulos played professionally with the
Carolina Courage
Carolina Courage was a professional soccer team that played in the Women's United Soccer Association. The team played at Fetzer Field on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus in 2001, and then at the soccer-specific SAS Stadium in Cary, North Carolina i ...
of the
Women's United Soccer Association
The Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) was the world's first women's soccer league in which all the players were paid as professionals. Founded in February 2000, the league began its first season in April 2001 with eight teams in the Un ...
, 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
Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...
(LSU) women's soccer team head coach
George Fotopoulos. In 2004, she served as co-head coach with her husband at
LSU
Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...
.
They finished with an 8–11–1 overall record (2–8–1 in the SEC). In 2006, she became an assistant coach for the
Florida Gators soccer team at the
University of Florida
The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...
, her
alma mater. She currently lives in
Tampa, Florida
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...
with her husband and their four children. She coached multiple teams at the
Tampa Bay United Soccer Club
Tampa Bay United Soccer Club is a soccer club from Tampa, Florida that plays in the Southeast Division in USL League Two.
History
The club was founded as a youth soccer club in Tampa, Florida, where they are the largest youth team in the city ...
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
Tampa Bay Hellenic are an American women's soccer team based in Tampa, Florida. Established in 2008, they currently play in the Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL). They play their home games at the Ed Radice Sports Complex. Their colors are whit ...
; her husband is currently the head coach. From 2010 to 2022, Fotopoulos was the head of coach of the
NCAA Division II
NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...
women's soccer team at
Eckerd College
Eckerd College is a private liberal arts college in St. Petersburg, Florida. Founded in 1958, part of the campus is waterfront and beach on Boca Ciega Bay. Because of its location, Eckerd is considered a "beach school" and has its own student ...
in
St. Petersburg, Florida.
Honors
Individual awards and honors
* WUSA All-Star team selection: 2003
* Second-team All-WUSA: 2002
*
Honda Award: 1998
*
NSCAA
The United Soccer Coaches (formerly known as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)) is an organization of American soccer coaches founded in 1941. It is the largest soccer coaches organization in the world, with more than ...
National Player of the Year: 1998
* ESPN.com/''Soccer Times'' National Player of the Year: 1998
* Soccer America Player of the Year: 1998
* NCAA Final Four Offensive MVP: 1998
*
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...
Player of the Year: 1996, 1998
*
All-American: 1995, 1996, 1998
* SEC Tournament MVP: 1996
Team honors
*
FIFA Women's World Cup (
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...
)
*
Women's United Soccer Association
The Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) was the world's first women's soccer league in which all the players were paid as professionals. Founded in February 2000, the league began its first season in April 2001 with eight teams in the Un ...
Founders Cup (2002)
*
NCAA Women's Soccer Championship (1999)
Statistics
College
WUSA
W-League
National team
See also
*
Florida Gators
*
List of Florida Gators soccer players
*
List of University of Florida alumni
This list of University of Florida alumni includes current students, former students, and graduates of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. Honorary degree recipients can be found on the List of University of Florida honorary degree r ...
*
List of University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame members
The University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame includes over 300 former Florida Gators athletes who represented the University of Florida in one or more intercollegiate sports and were recognized as "Gator Greats" for their athletic excellence d ...
References
External links
Danielle Fotopoulos, Soccer ''Sports Illustrated'' (February 11, 1999). Retrieved May 6, 2010.
*USSoccer.com,
Danielle Fotopoulos Retires from International Soccer" press release (February 22, 2007). Retrieved May 6, 2010.
University of Florida player bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fotopoulos, Danielle
1976 births
Living people
Carolina Courage players
Florida Gators women's soccer coaches
Florida Gators women's soccer players
LSU Tigers women's soccer coaches
SMU Mustangs women's soccer players
Sportspeople from Seminole County, Florida
People from Camp Hill, Pennsylvania
People from Altamonte Springs, Florida
United States women's international soccer players
1999 FIFA Women's World Cup players
FIFA Women's World Cup-winning players
Female sports coaches
American women's soccer players
Women's association football forwards
American soccer coaches