Name: Heather Mitts
Birthdate: June 9, 1978
Height: 5′ 5
Hometown: Cincinnati, OH
College: University of Florida
WUSA Team: Philadelphia Charge
Position: Defender
High School: Two-time all-state and all-central region selection. 1994 GGCL Player of the Year. Named to Cincinnati Enquirer and Cincinnati Post all-city first-teams in 1994 and 1995. Earned first-team all-league honors three straight years (1993-95). Coached by Bob Sheehan at St. Ursula Academy. Helped lead high school team to four straight district titles (1992-95) as well as 1993 state crown. Member of St. Ursula teams that ranked fourth (1993) and 12th (1992) nationally in USA Today Girls High School Soccer Poll. Scored 27 goals and 15 assists as a prep, while leading squad to 70-5-10 record. Member of National Honor Society.
1996: University of Florida – 21 matches (20 starts for 1,270 minutes)…One of only two true freshmen to be regular starters throughout the 1996 season. Fractured fibula in her left leg in the first five minutes of the SEC Tournament semifinal match against Auburn and missed the last four matches. Received team’s Gator Award for exceeding coaches expectations at the conclusion of the 1996 season.
1997: University of Florida – One of four Gators to started every match, playing wide midfield. Played a total of 1,842 minutes for an average of more than 75 minutes a match. One goal and seven assists for nine points during the regular season. Earned the Coaches Award for Most Inspirational Player. Member of Cardinal Premiere team that won Snickers USYSA National Championship in August of 1997 in Phoenix, Arizona.
1998: University of Florida – Started all 27 games. Played a team-high 2,329 minutes, which is a UF single-season record. Third-team NSCAA All-America selection. Selected to the NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team. Honorable mention All-America selection by College Soccer Weekly. NSCAA All-Southeast Region First Team selection. First-team All-SEC. Had 1 goal and 1 assist for 3 points.
1999: University of Florida – 1999 National Champions. Led the team in minutes played (2,081), averaging 90.5 minutes per match … National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-America first team … Soccer America All-America selection…All-Southeastern Conference first team selection…Also selected to the SEC All-Tournament team…1999 Gator MVP for defense and shared the team’s Player Choice (as voted by the players) with Sarah Yohe…Owns Gator career records for starts (94), minutes (7,547) and consecutive starts (74)… Soccer Buzz All-America first team member … College Soccer Weekly’s All-America honorable mention select ion… Trained with the U.S. under-21 National Team and traveled to Iceland for the Nordic Cup, where the U.S. claimed the team tit le… participated in 1999 Adidas Summer League in Portland, Oregon… Named to the All-SEC Academic Honor Roll.
2000: After graduating from the University of Florida, she played in two games for the Tampa Bay Extreme of the W-1 League and played for the U-21 National Team. Drafted by the WUSA in the 2nd round, 15th overall to the Philadelphia Charge where she started at right back.
2001: Philadelphia Charge, WUSA – Started and appeared in a team-high tying 20 games … Played a team-high 1,751 minutes, falling 139 minutes short of the maximum possible minutes played for a Charge player … Recorded two assists, with her first coming on July 19 in a 2-1 loss against Boston. U.S. Women’s National Team – Played in one game as a reserve for her second career cap.
2002: Philadelphia Charge, WUSA – Set a team-record by recording an assist in four straight games (6/15-7/7) … Finished the season with four assists, setting a career high in assists and points in a season … Missed one game for national team duty (7/20) … Missed three other games because of a hip pointer injury she suffered while training with the national team … Became the second Charge player to log 3,000 career minutes (6/19) … First Charge player to start and appear in 30 career games (6/19) … She is still searching for her first career goal. U.S. Women’s National Team – Was called up for four-day camp leading up to 7/21 game against Norway, but suffered a hip pointer in practice and did not make the roster … Was again called up for 9/8 game against Scotland and earned her third career cap, coming on in the second half … Was one of 28 players to be called to camp for 2002 Nike Cup (9/29-10/6).
2003: Philadelphia Charge, WUSA – Started all 14 games she played. Only member of the Philadelphia Charge to make the 2003 All-Star team before breaking her tibia and missing a month. Wasn’t selected to the World Cup team due to injury, instead covered the Women’s World Cup as a in-studio analyst for ABC and ESPN.
2004 – Present: U.S. Women’s National Team – Played for the United States Women’s National Team, who won the Gold Medal in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. Participated in the ‘Victory Tour’ for the Gold Medal Team. Heather is currently still a member of the U.S. Women’s National Team with 33 career Caps.
Personal: Graduated from Florida in December 2000 with a degree in Advertising. Served as a studio analyst for ABC/ESPN/ESPN2 during the 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Has done color commentary for Sunshine Network and for Fox Sports South on women’s college soccer games. Appeared on the cover of Philadelphia Magazine in June of 2002 as one of the city’s “Sexiest Singles”. Was voted sexiest player in the WUSA on Playboy.com during the 2001 season. The first soccer player ever to appear in FHM in a five-page photo spread … Was on the cover of Sports Illustrated for Women college preview issue in 1999. Co-host for the “Tailgate Show” on Comcast SportsNet, the pre-game for the Philadelphia Eagles home games. “Ran with the Bulls” in Pamplona, Spain in 1999. Brother Brian plays soccer for the University of Kentucky; Sister, Megan is a student at Miami of Ohio. Her mother, Jan Peck, is a personal trainer at Schwartz Laboratories and Personal Training and her father, Don Mitts, is a cardiac surgeon at Christ Hospital in Cincinnati and he played basketball at UK. Danielle Fotopolous is her favorite soccer player. Hobbies include golf, tennis and watching sports on TV.
Favorite Movie: Meet the Parents & Braveheart
Favorite Band/Artist: Dave Matthews, Alicia Keys, Jason Mraz, John Mayer
Favorite Book: A Painted House
Superstitions: Wearing a red sports bra for the game and my pre-game meal.
Most Memorable Game: Winning the National Championship in 1998.
First soccer memory: Heading the ball 3 consecutive times and all the parents were counting out loud.
Favorite Player: Danielle Fotopolous
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University of Florida
Philadelphia Charge
United States Women’s National Team
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