« Women’s Soccer 2010

Kristi Andreassen

School
Northern Arizona University
Position
Defender
Major
Exercise Science
G
5
A
2
PTS
12

Classroom

Kristi Andreassen was a CoSIDA/ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America second team selection in 2009 after being named to the Academic All-District 8 first team. She sports a perfect 4.0 GPA for her college career and has been named to the Dean’s list every semester. She is a three-time Big Sky All-Academic selection and was awarded the Arizona Board of Regents High Honors Endorsement Scholarship (AIMS Scholarship), which awards college scholarships to high school students who receive exemplary standardized test scores in reading, writing and math. Andreassen will graduate in December 2010 after only three and a half years. She is majoring in exercise science and is currently applying to physical therapy schools to get a doctorate in PT. She is considering a career in orthopedic physical therapy or neurological physical therapy and her top choice for PT schools is Northern Arizona.

Character

Andreassen is a two-time Northern Arizona women’s soccer team captain (junior and senior seasons). She suffered a strained hip flexor during her freshman season and missed a month of action during recovery. She was unable to run during recovery and had to work hard to return to team for conference play. NAU Women’s Soccer Head Coach Andre Luciano says: “Kristi Andreassen exemplifies what a student-athlete should be.  She is a player that has started almost every single game of her career. She is graduating in three and a half years while carrying a 4.0 grade point average. She contributed over 110 hours of community service last year alone. As a Big Sky all-conference performer in each of her three seasons, she has been one of the most dominating defensive players in the league and is one of the key reasons that we have turned around our program over the last three years. She is a great humanitarian, student and athlete and is easily one of the best role models our university has.”

Community

Andreassen has logged more than 110 hours of volunteer work in 2009, working in various physical therapy clinics in Flagstaff and Phoenix. She will be volunteering at an in-patient clinic in Mesa, Ariz., following her NAU graduation in December. Along with her teammates, her community involvement includes student-athlete for a day (in which NAU athletes are teamed with local youth to show them what the life of a college athlete entails), red ribbon week (which involves talking to local youth about the dangers of drugs and alcohol) and assisting with coaching local youth teams. Andreassen also participated in a track and field event with Special Olympics and local special needs children in 2009-10 and served as a counselor for NAU summer soccer camps for youth players for three summers.

Competition

Andreassen is ranked sixth in NAU history with 100 shots and is tied for ninth in NAU history with nine goals. She is 10th in NAU history with 23 points. She is one of only three players in program history to be named to the All-Big Sky first team twice and she is the first All-American in program history. As a junior, Andreassen was All-Big Sky first team. She was the only Lumberjack player to start all 21 games during the season and was third on the team with 1, 735 minutes played, second on the team with five goals and 12 points and second on the team with 48 shots and 25 shots on goal. She was named to the Big Sky Championship all-tournament team and anchored a Lumberjack defense that allowed only 35 goals in 21 games. She was an All-Big Sky first-team performer as a sophomore and was honorable mention all-conference as a freshman.