BATON ROUGE – With the start of the spring exhibition season just two days away, five members of the LSU soccer program took time out of their busy training schedule on Sunday afternoon to visit patients at the children’s hospital at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center.
Senior Courtney Alexander, junior Allysha Chapman, sophomore Carlie Banks, sophomore Tricia Johnson and redshirt freshman Amy Porter walked room to room visiting with children and their families.
“We had a great time hanging out with the kids. It was a great experience for us to have the opportunity to meet the kids and talk to them and their families,” Alexander said. “We love going out in the community and making a difference. Our program takes a lot of pride in doing that. We especially love spending time with kids and lifting their spirits when they may not feel their best.”
The LSU soccer team is the University’s community service leader as it has earned the Tiger Cup for each of the last two seasons in 2009 and 2010. The Tiger Cup is awarded annually to the athletic program that shows outstanding performance on the field, in the classroom and in the community.
Not only did the soccer team finish the 2009 season with a No. 2 finish in the overall SEC standings and a No. 14 national ranking in the final National Soccer Coaches Association of America Top 25 poll, but it also finished the year with nearly a 3.0 team GPA and approximately 700 hours of community service, which ranks No. 1 among all men’s and women’s athletic programs at LSU.
The Tigers are set to open the spring season on Wednesday as they host Northwestern State with kick off set for 6 p.m. CT at the LSU Soccer Complex in Baton Rouge.