BATON ROUGE — The LSU soccer team officially released its 2002-03 annual awards on Thursday as the Tigers’ coaching staff held an extravagant end-of-the-season banquet on the fifth floor of the Athletic Administration Building.
For the third-consecutive season, head coach George Fotopoulos and his coaching staff have awarded the Tigers for their hard work and dedication by presenting seven prestigious honors to members of the LSU soccer team. These seven awards include Most Valuable Player, Offensive MVP, Defensive MVP, Freshman of the Year, Academic Achievement, Strength and Conditioning and the Golden Tiger Award.
Mandy Heintz, LSU’s forward from San Antonio, Texas, garnered both the team MVP honor and the Offensive MVP Award on Thursday for her outstanding work ethic and play on the field during the 2002 season. The Tigers’ junior, who will forego her senior year of eligibility after graduating with a degree in kinesiology, led the Southeastern Conference in scoring last season and was named the 2002 Louisiana Player of the Year.
Heintz finished the 2002 campaign with 23 goals and four assists for a total of 50 total points. After the regular season, she was named Second-Team All-SEC, a member of the All-SEC Tournament team and earned Academic All-American honors from Verizon Wireless.
LSU’s Ashley Mitnick received the Defensive MVP award for the second-consecutive season on Thursday as the native of Lilburn, Ga., anchored the Tigers’ defense and played a vital role in LSU’s 12-5-3 season.
As a senior, Mitnick started in all 20 games of the season and completed her career with 79 starts in 79 games.
The Tigers’ Freshman of the Year Award went to both Tara Mitnick and Kristin Frischhertz for their major contributions in 2002. Mitnick started every contest for LSU and added three assists on the season, while Frischhertz played a vital role in 17 of the Tigers’ 20 games.
Sophomore Danielle Keath garnered the Strength and Conditioning Award on Thursday, while senior Melissa Shelton earned the esteemed Golden Tiger Award. Shelton, a native of Mandeville, La., and four-year starter for the Tigers’, received the honor which is given directly from the LSU coaching staff.
Shelton provided the Tigers with an explosive offensive threat at the forward position in each of her four years and accumulated nine goals and nine assists in her career. She compiled 27 total points while at LSU including 14 during the 2000 season in which the Tigers finished with a team-record 15-6 overall mark.
Chelsea Agar received a distinguished award for the second-consecutive season on Thursday as the sophomore from Courtenay, B.C., Canada, earned the Academic Achievement Award. Last season, Agar was honored as the Strength and Conditioning Player of the Year.