Courtney Baines-Lundy Among Best Brevard Soccer Players Ever
By SPACE COAST SPORTS HALL OF FAME // June 10, 2014
SPACE COAST SPORTS HALL OF FAME
ABOVE VIDEO: Courtney Baines-Lundy starred as a forward for Satellite High School from 2000 to 2002 and helped lead the Scorpions to its first state championship in 2002. Baines-Lundy captained the 2002 squad, which would go down as the greatest team in school history. That team finished 29-1-1 and produced over a dozen Division I athletes.
COURTNEY BAINES-LUNDY – 2013 INDUCTEE
• Two-Time All State Selection
• Conference USA Defensive
Player of the Year
LEAD ‘SCORPS TO FIRST STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
As a busy athlete growing up, Courtney Baines-Lundy never settled on one sport. Whether it was running or tennis, Baines-Lundy would find a way to be successful at it.
However, she was most dominant on the soccer field where her performance in both high school and college set her apart as one of the Space Coast’s best players in history.
Baines-Lundy, who will be enshrined in the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame (SCSHOF) in May, was honored to be recognized for her achievements in soccer.
“When my husband told me the news, I didn’t really believe it at first,” Baines-Lundy said. “I waited until the article came out. I was surprised and honored to get that recognition. It was pretty awesome.”
Baines-Lundy starred as a forward for Satellite High School from 2000 to 2002. A three-year starter for fellow SCSHOF inductee Fidgi Haig, Baines-Lundy helped lead the Scorpions to its first state championship in 2002. Baines-Lundy captained the 2002 squad, which would go down as the greatest team in school history. That team finished 29-1-1 and produced over a dozen Division I athletes.
Baines-Lundy scored 109 goals and racked up a Florida state-record 101 assists in her three seasons. Even at 5’3, Baines-Lundy proved to be no match for the Space Coast as she found the back of the net 56 times and assisted on 41 goals during her senior season. Baines-Lundy would go on to be named the 2002 All-Space Coast Player of the Year.
A durable player, she started 87 consecutive matches for the Scorpions. Baines-Lundy was named All-Space Coast all three years in high school and made the First-Team Class 3A All-State team her junior and senior seasons. A complete athlete in high school, Baines-Lundy was also a three-year letterman in cross-country, track and field, and tennis.
GOLDEN KNIGHT
After high school, Baines-Lundy took her talents to the University of Central Florida (UCF) on a full soccer scholarship. She made an immediate impact for the Knights, starting 19 games and earning selection to the Atlantic Sun Conference All-Freshman Team. It would be her next three years that saw Baines-Lundy blossom into one of the best players in Knights history.
Consistency and durability marked a college career in which she started 65 of 67 games. She was a second-team A-Sun All Conference selection as a sophomore in 2003, and, stepping up her game a notch in her junior season, scored 20 points with five goals and 10 assists, helping lead the Knights to the second round of the NCAA tournament and being named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America/Adidas College Women Scholar All-South Region First Team. She also earned A-Sun First Team honors and was rewarded as the 2004 A-Sun Defensive Player of the Year.
Baines-Lundy wrapped up her collegiate career as a senior captain for the Knights in 2005. She repeated as the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year in 2005 and captained a stingy defense that only allowed six goals in nine conference matches.
Baines-Lundy finished her Knights career fourth in school history with 29 assists, just behind women’s soccer legend Michelle Akers who finished with 30. Baines-Lundy also proved to be no slouch in the classroom, earning All-Academic honors all four years.
COACH & ATHLETIC DIRECTOR AT VIERA
Now a Special Education teacher, assistant athletic director and head women’s soccer coach at Viera High school, Baines-Lundy reflects back on a whirlwind of a career.
“To me, what made me really love the game was when the Cocoa Expos (semi-professional soccer team) were around,” Baines-Lundy said.
“I used to love going to the games and watching them play at such a high level. That was something that I strived to do. Now with the Hall of Fame, it’s good for the younger players to look at people to strive for. If people in their backyard did it, then they know that they can do it too.”
THE SPACE COAST SPORTS HALL OF FAME Banquet and Induction Ceremony will take place at the Cocoa Beach Country Club on Friday, May 10 with a cocktail reception at 6 p.m. – and dinner and ceremony at 7 p.m.
FOR INFORMATION & TICKETS to the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame Induction dinner call 321-615-8111 or e-mail MaverickMultimedia@gmail.com
