Playing position Role Soccer player 1990–1993 Lyman High School Height 1.80 m | 1994–1995 Southern Methodist Name Danielle Fotopoulos Position Forward | |
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Full name Danielle Ruth Garrett Fotopoulos Date of birth (1976-03-24) March 24, 1976 (age 39) Place of birth | ||
2017 Women's Soccer Outlook
Danielle Ruth Garrett Fotopoulos (born March 24, 1976), née Danielle Ruth Garrett, 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 is currently head coach of the Eckerd College women's soccer team.
Contents
- 2017 Womens Soccer Outlook
- Early life
- College career
- Professional career
- Coaching career
- Individual awards and honors
- Team honors
- References
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. After suffering an ACL injury before the start of the 1997 season, she 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.
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 of the Women's United Soccer Association, winning the league championship in 2002. Additionally she was a part 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. 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 coaches multiple teams at the Tampa Bay United soccer club. She is also a partner for the semi-pro team, Tampa Bay Hellenic; her husband is currently the head coach. In 2010, Fotopoulos became the head of coach of the NCAA Division II women's soccer team at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida.