BATON ROUGE — The LSU soccer team earned a National Soccer Coaches Association of America Bronze Team Ethics award on Tuesday as the Tigers were recognized for their clean play throughout the 2002 season.
“This is one of the nation’s top awards,” said LSU head coach George Fotopoulos. “The NSCAA ethics medals are only given to 50 or so schools in the entire nation, and that includes Division I, Division II, Division III and NAIA. It is an honor to be a part of a team that was able to earn this distinction and I’m proud of each and every one of our players.
The NSCAA Team Ethics award recognizes teams that exhibit fair play, sporting behavior and adherence to the Laws of the Game, as reflected by the number of yellow caution cards or red ejection cards that a team is shown by referees throughout the season.
Teams that completed the entire 2002 campaign without receiving either a yellow or red card earned a Gold Team Ethics award, while teams that finished without being shown any red cards and a minimum of five yellow cards earn a Silver Team Ethics award. The Bronze Team Ethics award, which was only awarded to 17 teams, is presented to those intercollegiate squads that receive no reds and a maximum of 10 yellow cards.
The Tigers only received eight yellow cards and did not earn a single red card during the 2002 season on their way to a 12-5-3 overall record. LSU was one of two Southeastern Conference teams to receive the prestigious ethics award on Tuesday as the Arkansas women’s team also garnered the Bronze Team Ethics award. Arkansas finished the season with nine yellow cards.
The LSU soccer team will next be in action on March 8, as the Tigers begin their spring season by hosting the second-annual LSU Spring Classic at the LSU Soccer Complex.