BATON ROUGE — The LSU women’s soccer team will travel to Boyds, Md., to participate in the fifth annual KICKS Against Breast Cancer Women’s Intercollegiate Soccer Tournament at the South Germantown Park SoccerPlex on Saturday and Sunday.
“On a personal note, I am honored to have an opportunity to play in a tournament with so much meaning,” said head coach George Fotopoulos. “The fight against breast cancer for women is something special. We have the chance as a team to participate in that fight and help raise money. It is very exciting. We are the only Southeastern Conference team invited and that is a privilege. As far as the competition goes, this weekend will be good for us. Although this is not a traditional soccer weekend for LSU, we expect to have a good weekend.”
The tournament is the only one of its kind in the nation, and it benefits the Claudia Mayer Cancer Resource and Image Center, an affiliate of Howard County General Hospital: a member of Johns Hopkins Medicine, located in Columbia, Md. The KICKS Against Breast Cancer tournament was conceived by founder Louise Waxler to raise awareness about breast cancer. The past four events have raised more than $200,000 to benefit the Claudia Mayer Cancer Resource and Image Center, named in memory of a breast-cancer victim who died in 1996.
LSU was one of the 10 teams selected to participate in the invitation only event. The tournament will feature, in addition to the Tigers: the WUSA Washington Freedom, Maryland, the Naval Academy, Georgetown, Loyola, George Mason, William and Mary, USYSA Region 1 1984 Team and Penn State.
The LSU Tigers were the most improved team in NCAA Division I for 2000. The Tigers, led by first-year head coach George Fotopoulos, posted a school-best record of 15-6 after only winning four games in 1999. LSU was led by forward Kara Dean and defender Ashley Mitnick.
Dean was named the Louisiana Sports Writers Association’s player of the year after leading the team with 15 goals and two assists for 32 points. Mitnick was honored as a second-team All-SEC and All-Central Region selection. She was second on the team statistically with seven goals and a team-leading eight assists for 22 points.