« Women’s Soccer 2007

Stephanie Lopez

School
University of Portland
Position
Defender
Major
Psychology
Stephanie Lopez Winner

Classroom

Stephanie Lopez is a Psychology major with a 3.7 GPA and is on course to graduate in December 2007. She has earned Dean’s List status seven consecutive semesters, and made the two-time West Coast Conference All-Academic selection. She plans to base her senior thesis on the study of elite women athletes as role models. She hopes to find an empirical perspective on the qualities of a “good” role model, and to investigate how role models work psychologically.

Character

Lopez has demonstrated a strong work ethic as a player and a student. She balances a full course load with collegiate athletics, and National Team commitments. She has been the captain of USA youth national teams, and is the youngest collegian on the current USA National Team roster. She also shows fan appreciation by signing autographs for hours on end.

Community

A descendent from a family that cared for over 90 foster children in the last 15 years, Lopez was preordained to partake in a vast amount of selfless service. She helped her parents lead a group of teens to Egypt to paint an orphanage. She traveled to the Bahamas to clear land for the construction of a learning center. She joined her family in Mexico to serve meals to American missionaries. And she was part of a team that created a Hurricane Katrina fundraiser in 2005.

Competition

Lopez has earned status as an All-America defender three times. She helped Portland to a 60-7-7 record in three years, and led her team to the 2005 D-I national championship and an undefeated 24-0-2 record. She was named “Defender of the Year,” and helped her team received the College Cup All-Tournament Team 2005.