SAN DIEGO – In the third edition of its "Where are they now…" series, in which GoAztecs.com catches up with former San Diego State athletic greats, the focus is on women's soccer's Lori LaCoursiere (1996-99).
In its 30-years of competition, simply stated, LaCoursiere (pronounced la-course-air) is the greatest offensive player San Diego State's women's soccer program has produced.
Now 21 years since her final game, the San Jose, Calif., native still holds the program's career marks for goals (52), assists (44) and points (148). To illustrate her dominance, she ranks 16 goals, nine assists and 45 points ahead of the player in second place in each of those categories.
On the single-season lists, her goals rank No. 1 (18 in 1996), No. 3 (13 in 1998) and No. 7 (11 in 1999). Her assist marks are No. 1 (14 in 1999) and tied No. 3 (10 in 1996, 1997 & 1998). LaCoursiere's points totals rank No. 1 (46 in 1996), No. 3 (36 in 1998 & 1999) and No. 8 (30 in 1997).
Her hat trick against Fresno State, in the 1996 season, was the third in program history and is still tied for No. 2 for goals in a game. Her three assists against Air Force, in her senior season, are tied for the most in a game and her six points in the 1996 Fresno State game remain tied for third most in a game in Aztec history.
LaCoursiere was named a Freshman All-American and a four-time All-Region designee, including a Freshman All-Far West Region performer. The Western Athletic Conference honored her with its Freshman of the Year Award in 1996, named her a three-time first-team All-WAC performer and in her senior season, she was selected a first-team All-Mountain West honoree. She was a three-time conference Player of the Week, and three times was included on the conference All-Tournament Team.
Following her collegiate career, and some time working San Diego, LaCoursiere moved back to the Bay Area and has spent the last 20 years in sales and marketing. She currently lives in San Francisco with her three children.
GoAztecs.com: What were the factors which made you decide to attend San Diego State?
LaCoursiere: First and foremost, it had a good soccer program. Before I got there, (former head coach) Chuck Clegg was leading it with several great players, so that was one reason. The other was because the business program was great, and that was my major.
When the plane touched down (in San Diego) on my recruiting trip it was nighttime, and I saw the harbor with all the lights lit up there. The soccer team picked me up and brought me to campus, and it was like when you walk into a house and you go, 'Yup, this is home.' It was the people, the location, the school, and the soccer team. I immediately called home and said, 'Mom, this is the school I want to go to.'
GoAztecs.com: What is the most important lesson you learned from athletics, which translated into your work, and then possibly into your personal life?
LaCoursiere: I would say first, teamwork. Building trust and being able to rely on people and having people rely on me is really important. If you have the proper team, which I have been fortunate to have throughout my life, you do your job, they do their job, and everything comes together. It's that, hard work and perseverance. In anything, when you put your head down and work hard, it pays off and you see the results. The discipline of soccer, and really any sport, is a great building block for life. Just like in soccer, in my professional life I love the thrill of the kill. You score a goal and you love it and when you make a sale, you love it.
Out of college, I was living in San Diego and working for a San Diego based company. One of the things that got me in the door was, on my resume, I included that I played soccer at San Diego State. That got the owners attention. They were soccer players from South Africa and because we had that in common it opened the door. They asked me to come work for them and be their marketing coordinator. It was a small company and I did not think much of it because it was my first job out of college. Twenty years later, I was still with them and it had grown to an international organization.
GoAztecs.com: As a player, who was your biggest influence?
LaCoursiere: Mani Hernandez, who played at San Jose State (and won the 1968 Hermann Trophy, the Heisman Trophy of college soccer) and for the San Jose Earthquakes. He was my soccer coach from 12 or 13 years old until I was 18, and came to SDSU. He, along with our coach Dennis Wagner, took us to four state championships, two regional championships and a national championship. He really understood me and got on the field with our team as we were growing up. He taught us all these little moves and how to touch the ball and how to move around the field effectively.
GoAztecs.com: What was it about soccer that got hold of you when you were a child and wouldn't let you go?
LaCoursiere: When I was four years old, I watched my older sister play and I said, 'Mom, I need to get out on that field. I just need to get out there.' I always wanted to dribble the ball, but at one point, my coach said, 'Lori, you've got to learn to pass.' So finally, I learned to pass, learned teamwork and learned that along with controlling the ball you can do a lot off it. It was a growth experience.
GoAztecs.com: What advice would you give to current women soccer players at San Diego State or student-athletes in general?
LaCoursiere: Work hard, stay focused and get a good education because San Diego State is a great school. The hard work really pays off, whether it's physically, emotionally, or financially. It pays off.
GoAztecs.com: Is there a particular game, play, season, or accomplishment, which stands out in your mind from your playing days from your days at San Diego State?
LaCoursiere: Goodness, there are several BYU games that stand out, conference (WAC & Mountain West) championships or playing USC and winning it with a (penalty kick). There're so many, but the main thing that really stands out to me are my teammates. They were all amazing and to this day I'm still best friends with half of them. I give kudos to my teammates and (coach) Chuck Clegg for recruiting me. That's what stands out the most. The trust, the bond, the relationships, and the skills that we all learned together stand out.
GoAztecs.com: Do you have any memorabilia from your playing days that you still display?
LaCoursiere: I have a poster where I was doing a bicycle kick. I'll never forget it. We sat there and did a photo shoot where we were doing bicycle kicks for what must have been three hours and I could barely move my neck the next day. It was with a couple other girls on the team and we just kept kind of messing around. Finally, I got a hold of the ball on a bicycle kick, he took a picture of it and said, 'This is the one.' I still have that picture.
GoAztecs.com: Are you still a big soccer fan?
LaCoursiere: I'm pretty much up to my eyeballs with my kids right now. I have three beautiful children that are very young. I have a son who is four and my twin girls are our two, so there's not too much time outside of them. But of course, I'll always be a soccer fan and it will always have a place in my heart.
GoAztecs.com: Now20-plus years since you graduated, is it hard to fathom that your records still stand and what does it say about your accomplishments that no one has even come close to them?
LaCoursiere: I don't even know what to say, to be honest. It's pretty shocking. When I became an Aztec, Lynn Murray (1991-92, 94-95) held all the records and Catherine McGuire (1995-98), and Liz Judkins (1994-95) had a lot of impressive stats as well. I was just hoping to bring something good to the team.
Again, I can't believe some of those marks are still there, but I have to say it's not me, it's my team. It was our team that did all these things together. I just happen to be on the end of things, so my name is there, but good offense starts with a great defense and it requires the whole team to set records.